Jul

8

The Latest Scapegoat in the Oil Price Debate: American Drivers

Filed Under Commentary, National Politics

ScapegoatSeveral states recently called on Congress to reinstitute the national speed limit of 55 miles per hour (Texas was not one of them). They argue that this would reduce oil consumption, pollution, and traffic accidents. According to a story by WFAA News in Dallas, reducing the speed limit to 55 MPH would save an average of $10 on a drive from Dallas to South Padre Island ($14 for pickups and SUV’s), a trip of 560 miles.

However, these arguments are nothing new. After the Carter Administration debacles in the Middle East and Carter’s ineffectiveness with OPEC, Congress instituted this same speed limit. The arguments thirty years ago: it would reduce oil consumption, pollution, and traffic accidents. So now, three decades later, history repeats itself.

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