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High Gas Prices Save Lives
One happy upside to the $4 gallon of gas: traffic deaths have plummeted. The National Safety Council finds that in some states, deaths from traffic accidents have declined by as much as 20 percent this year compared with the same period last year. Indiana, which has seen a 26 percent decline, may hit the lowest number of traffic deaths in 18 years. The country hasn't seen such a precipitous fall in traffic deaths since the Arab oil embargo in 1973. The AP reports on speculation that people are simply driving less, thus fewer accidents, but also that high gas prices and a sour economy might be keeping drunks at home rather out on the roads.
One possible contributor they don't mention is Americans' mass abandonment of the SUV, which has been responsible for a disproportionate number of highway deaths both from rollovers and also from squashing other smaller cars that might survive an accident with a sedan. Now, if Congress would follow Sen. John Warner's advice and lower the speed limit, the nation might see a massive reduction in highway carnage that would even make Ralph Nader proud!
How about Congress banning talking on cell phones while driving? I ride a bike and 95% of the people driving and gabbing on a cell are women who pay no attention to what is around them. I have been in 3 or 4 near misses with these idiots.
Highways traditionally fall under the states rules, but phones are interstate communication and banning their use while operating any sort of vehicle falls well under the jurisdiction of Congress.
Not sure banning cell phone use would have as high an impact on highway safety as we like to think. They're banned in DC and everyone I know uses them anyway -- just set to speaker phone and held in their laps below the eyeline of nearby cops.
Another suggestion: tax incentives that by cars that are not only fuel efficient, but safe. "Safe" is a term that needs to be redefined. Of course all those gas-guzzling SUVs were safe for their occupants (except for the rollover bit) but there should be a safety rating for how crash victims fare against cars -- what's the rate of survival for people who are hit by Toyota Corollas, for example? I bet it's high.
Be environmentally conscious and driving a small car doesn't just benefit the earth and your wallet, it benefits the people with whom you share the road.
I began, several weeks ago,
cutting my speed to 60 mph
in an area where 75 mph is
the speed limit. I stay in
the far right hand lane. I
also take side roads more
frequently; avoiding the
freeways. The speed limit
is usually 40-45. I "lose"
only about 10 minutes in
time. The improvement in
gas savings is remarkable.
Reduce the speed limit!! TV reporters said in the last few days that reducing the speed limit does not work because no one reduced their speed limit when driving. Well, for one, I did!!! I do try to comply to state and federal laws and do not like getting traffic tickets. This lack of government reaction and real action to this gas price problem is a disgrace. Our current government is not doing anything about ANY and ALL the problems facing this country. Our elected officials can only be concerned with people tapping their feet in mens restrooms.
No one drives at 55mph, and it is a known fact that there are more traffic accidents attributed to slow overcautious drivers than speedy drivers.
BTW, you are not saving gas driving 40-45 mph on back roads. Impossible. A car gets optimum mileage between 50-65 mph on the highway with no stop signs! Back roads are typically one lane, so you deal with slower drivers, stop signs, curves, hills, traffic lights, turns, and a host of other mileage consuming detriments. Don't kid yourself. You don't have to drive 75, but at least you stay in the right lane and that is respectable. I suggest using the highway and going about 60. THEN you'll be amazed at how much gas you save!
I don't think CitizenWhale knows what he's talking about. If my memory serves me, Click and Clack said that optimum mileage is attained at a speed of about 45 miles per hour, but when the 55 mph speed limit was implemented, 55 was chosen because the public would revolt if it were 45.
As far as reducing the speed limit goes, when it's 70 people drive 80. If it's reduced to 55 and this causes people to drive 70, there's still an improvement.