Focus on traffic, not speed limit

I’d like to remind two recent letter writers who support setting a 55 mph speed limit that it’s perfectly legal to drive at that speed on freeways now, as long as one stays to the right when not passing, so they don’t need to impose their ideas on others.

A national 55 mph speed limit was imposed in 1974 after gasoline shortages, caused mainly by federal government price controls, resulted in long lines at gas pumps. After the initial novelty of sharply reduced speed limits wore off, the 55 mph speed limit proved to be about as popular as prohibition was in the 1920s. Despite claims to the contrary, it never did cause a significant reduction in traffic deaths. In fact, deaths and injuries per vehicle miles traveled continued a downward trend, even after it was repealed.

Only a small percentage of roads in this state (mainly rural freeways) have speed limits above 60 mph. Much larger savings in fuel consumption, and reductions in vehicle emissions, could be achieved through working on ways to keep traffic moving in urban areas, by synchronizing traffic signals, building more freeway lanes, adding roundabouts, providing transit alternatives for commuters, and even the introduction of congestion based tolls.

Attempting to make drivers on rural freeways obey ridiculously low speed limits didn’t work in the 1970s. It just made lawbreakers out of almost everyone then, and most likely would have the same effect today.

It’s also worth noting that most countries in Europe actually have higher freeway speed limits than we do here, while still consuming less energy.

Mark Cotter

Bothell