55 mph, again

By Published by The Editorial Board

Published: July 17, 2008

In the 13 years since the 55 mph national speed limit was raised, Americans have voted with their right feet.

Today, traffic moves a lot faster on interstate and limited-access highways. Even U.S. highways such as 58 and 29 have slightly higher speed limits than the dreaded double nickel.

But $4-a-gallon gas has made the cost of energy a national issue. One of the easiest ways to save gas and money with the current technology — that is, today’s cars and trucks — is to simply drive slower.

Is it time to return to the mandatory 55 mph speed limit?

U.S. Sen. John Warner, R-Va., has written to Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman asking what the most efficient speed for today’s vehicles is, how much could be saved if the national speed limit were lowered to that speed and how much of a savings we could expect to see at the gas station.

Warner is right that automobiles have undergone “significant technological improvements” since 1974, so 55 mph may not bring the same savings it did almost 35 years ago.

“In my view, new conservation efforts are the quickest way to see an immediate reduction in the price of gas at the pump,” Warner wrote. “The American public is already doing its part through individual means of cutting back.”

But there is a world of difference between a driver making the choice to slow down to save gas and everyone having to slow down because Washington lowered the national speed limit.

As long as gas hovers around $4 per gallon, no one needs to be reminded how much more expensive driving has become. But if someone wants to drive at 65 mph or even 75 mph with “today’s technology” — and they’re willing to pay the price that comes from driving that fast — isn’t that really the best short-run solution?

The federal government should let people who want to buy more $4-per-gallon gas do so by keeping today’s higher speed limits in place. Nothing has done more to stoke interest in energy conservation than those higher prices everyone hates. The market has been working on this problem. Let’s keep it on the job.