July 15, 2008

A handful of people on Capitol Hill are once more talking about instituting a nationwide 55 mph speed limit in an effort to reduce gasoline and diesel fuel consumption.

Most members of the Congress would prefer to talk about something else.

Nevertheless, a Virginia Senator keeps on bringing up the old double nickel despite the 55 mph speed limit’s history of angering motorists and littering county court houses with speeding tickets while enriching local governments at the expense of drivers.

The first time Congress imposed the double nickel the country was in the midst of the energy crises of the 1970s. The speed limit remained on the books for 20 years raising so much contempt in the countryside that Congress threw it out in 1996.

Virginia Republican John Warner claims the 55 mph speed limit saved 167,000 barrels of petroleum a day in the 70s. He has asked the Energy Department to study what would be the most fuel efficient national speed limit now and is suggesting he will eventually introduce a bill impose a fuel saving limit.

Warner is perhaps more able to raise the issue than his colleagues. He has announced his retirement at the end of his present term and thus won’t ever have to face the voters again.

Warner’s letter to the Energy Department cites a Congressional Research Survey report stating that the 1974 speed limit law reduced oil consumption and traffic fatalities, cutting highway deaths by as many as 4,000.

Since Congress tossed the double nickel on the trash heap, states have set their own speed limits. Most impose a 65 mph maximum but some states allow higher speeds, including Texas with an 80 mph legal speed in the western part of the state.

The 55 mph national maximum speed limit appears to be no more popular during this summer of $4 gasoline than when it was during 1973 energy crises. A Rasmussen Reports survey found that 59 percent of respondents opposed lowering the speed limit.

Opposition to the 55 mph limit was 76 percent among the youngest people questioned, motorists under 30.

Truckers, ravaged on a daily basis by record diesel prices, would like to see a nationwide speed limit set at 65 mph. Cutting speed back to 65 mph would increase mileage in big trucks by more than 25 percent, according to trucking association estimates.

Big semi-trailers and rigs will burn $135 billion in diesel fuel this year, in increase of $22 over last year.

Read more: http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2008/07/gas_prices280.html#ixzz0YCK39kB7

October 2, 2009

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has concluded a two-day summit on distracted driving by announcing a series of actions the Obama Administration is taking to help put an end to distracted driving.

President Obama signed an executive order directing federal employees not to engage in text messaging while driving government-owned vehicles or while driving privately-owned vehicles when they’re on official government business. He also banned the use of electronic equipment supplied by the government while driving.

The order also encourages federal contractors and others doing business with the government to adopt and enforce their own policies banning texting while driving on the job.

“This order sends a very clear signal to the American public that distracted driving is dangerous and unacceptable. It shows that the federal government is leading by example,” said LaHood. “I fully expect that all 58,000 DOT employees and contractors will take this order seriously.”

LaHood pledged to work with Congress to ensure that the issue of distracted driving is appropriately addressed. He also announced a number of immediate actions the Department is taking to combat distracted driving, including a plan to create three separate rulemakings that would consider:

• Making permanent restrictions on the use of cell phones and other electronic devices in rail operations.

• Banning text messaging altogether, and restrict the use of cell phones by truck and interstate bus operators.

• Disqualifying school bus drivers convicted of texting while driving, from maintaining their commercial driver’s licenses.
State action needed

LaHood also called on state and local governments to work with DOT to reduce fatalities and crashes by making distracted driving part of their state highway plans, and by continuing to pass state and local laws against distracted driving in all types of vehicles, especially school buses.

He asked states and local governments to back up public awareness campaigns with high-visibility enforcement actions. And he said the Department is establishing an on-line clearinghouse on the risks of distracted driving, aimed especially at young people, which will give them information to help encourage good decisions.

In addition, LaHood pledged to continue the Department’s research on how to best combat distracted driving. As part of this pledge, the Department will launch a new demonstration program this year to evaluate techniques that states can use to get the most out of their efforts to end this destructive behavior.

“Keeping Americans safe is without question the federal government’s highest priority – and that includes safety on the road, as well as on mass transit and rail,” said LaHood. “I’m greatly encouraged by the work accomplished at this summit. Working together, we’re going to make sure that traveling in America is as safe as it can possibly be and I strongly encourage the public to take personal responsibility for their behavior and show a healthy respect for the rules of the road.”

The two-day summit brought together safety experts, researchers, industry representatives, elected officials and members of the public who shared their expertise, experiences and ideas for reducing distracted driving behavior and addressed the safety risk posed by this growing problem across all modes of transportation.

Speakers from around the nation led interactive sessions on a number of key topics including the extent and impact of distracted driving, current research, regulations and best practices. Individuals from 49 states participated in the summit via the web.

The summit also featured a discussion with Seventeen Editor-in-Chief Ann Shoket and three young adults that explored the dangers of texting and driving. High school classrooms across the country tuned into the youth geared program and heard insights from Reggie Shaw, 22, and Nicole Meredith, 18, both of whom caused car crashes because they were texting while behind the wheel. The two were joined by Natalie Hayford, 17, a teen advocate with the Anoka, Minnesota, chapter of Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD).

Together with the National Organizations for Youth Safety (NOYS) and the National Road Safety Foundation (NRSF), the group announced the Drive for Life PSA contest.

The contest challenges kids and teens to submit a PSA concept on combating distracted or impaired driving and the winner will be sent to New York City to help producers actually put their PSA together. Additional information on the challenge can be found at www.noys.org or www.nrsf.org.

Read more: http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2009/10/distracted_driving_summit2.html#ixzz0YCJU9sWm

Read more: http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2009/10/distracted_driving_summit2.html#ixzz0YCJJxyQj