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There's Washington Buzz About National Speed Limit

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By RICH SHOPES

The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 17, 2008

TAMPA - Thirty-four years ago, Congress responded to a fuel shortage and rising gas prices by creating a national 55 mph speed limit.

Gas consumption dropped 2 percent the next year, and fewer people died in highway accidents.

With gas prices now topping $4 a gallon, talk of a national slowdown is again swirling. Sen. John Warner, R-Va., has asked for a government study on a national speed limit.

But don't expect a repeat of 1974 anytime soon.

The 55 mph limit stayed in place until 1995 but never gained widespread popularity. And organizations such as AAA oppose it, saying states should decide the limit on their roads. Half the postings on a Web site based in California dedicated to fuel conservation, www.Drive55.org, are from people opposed to the limit.

"Like any other addiction, once you try to take away booze from a drunk or cigarettes you'll see the reaction," Drive55 founder Tim Castleman said. American drivers, he said, "are addicted to speed."

Congress set the 55 mph limit in 1974 because of gas shortages caused by the Arab oil embargo.

The country saved 167,000 barrels of petroleum per day in the year after the limit was imposed. That lowered the nation's fuel consumption by 2 percent, Warner wrote in a recent letter to the Energy Department, adding that fuel savings would be substantially higher today.

Largely because the public hated it, lawmakers repealed the limit 21 years after imposing it, leaving it up to individual states to set limits.

"There was a strong outcry in Western states, anywhere where the ride is long and monotonous," said Steve Polzin of the Center for Urban Transportation Research at the University of South Florida. "Drivers got bored, fell asleep and drove off the road."

In Florida, the limit is 70 mph on most stretches of interstates, 65 mph on four-lane divided highways outside most urban areas, and 60 mph on other state highways. More than 30 states have limits of 70 mph or higher on some portion of their roadway systems.

Two years ago, Texas adopted the highest limits in the country at 80 mph during the daytime on interstates in the western part of the state.

Along with Warner's request for an Energy Department study, U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., last week proposed a bill to restrict highway speeds to 60 mph in urban areas and 65 mph in rural settings.

Both lawmakers are looking for ways to save gas, and transportation experts agree that making the switch would conserve fuel nationally. A passenger vehicle going 60 mph uses 10 percent less fuel than one going 70 mph, according to a national study.

Trucking Companies Back Limit

Among the limit's ardent supporters are trucking companies, many of which impose limits on drivers to shave fuel costs. A 10 mph hour reduction from 75 mph can lower fuel consumption 27 percent in a fully loaded tractor-trailer, according to the American Trucking Associations.

"For some motor carriers, fuel is beginning to surpass labor as their largest expense," said Mary Lou Rajchel, president of ATA's Florida chapter, which represents more than 400 trucking companies. "Clearly, increased costs for freight shipments ultimately result in increased prices for all goods or services."

A Florida Highway Patrol spokesman, Sgt. Steve Gaskins, said the highway patrol has not taken a formal position on the matter. But he said that based on his 10 years as a trooper, "Typically, if you lower the speed limit you're going to have a fuel savings, and the lower the speed limit for drivers, the safer they are. For every second you drive at 70 miles per hour, that's a distance of around 102 feet. That's a pretty good clip."

Pasco County Senator Has Doubts

Despite the fuel-savings argument, odds are slim that lawmakers will follow through with lowering speeds because of the public opposition last time around.

"It was very unpopular then, and I think it would be very unpopular today," said state Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, chairman of the state's Transportation and Economic Development Appropriations Committee.

Polzin, of USF, said a 15 mph reduction in the limit would be virtually impossible to enforce.

"To keep the speeds to 60 and 65 might make sense," he said. "Pushing it to 55, the lesson from the last time is if you do it, you don't get even enforcement and you have a variation of speeds."

Florida's Department of Transportation, while not officially taking a position, pointed out the downside of such a move, including a higher potential for crashes because of vehicles traveling at different speeds. With roads designed for the higher limit, motorists feel comfortable driving faster than 55 mph, DOT said. There is also the potential for lost productivity, with workers spending more time on the road.

Tampa-based AAA Auto Club South doesn't back the national limit. Spokesman Gregg Laskoski said states, working with local governments, should be able to set their own speed limits.

"I understand you are supposed to strike balance between effective mobility and safety. There could be circumstances in certain places where it's safer at 60 or 65 than 50 or 55," Laskoski said. "States and local governments know their roads."

Reporter Rich Shopes can be reached at (813) 259-7633 or rshopes@tampatrib.com.

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