Unmentioned Energy Fix: A 55 M.P.H. Speed Limit

The New York Times ^ | May 1, 2005 | Jad Mouawad and Simon Romero

[MississippiMasterpiece]

President Bush made it clear last week that he sees no quick fixes to the nation's energy woes. The problem has been long in coming, the argument goes, and so will the solutions. But if history is any guide, there is one thing he could do immediately: bring back the 55 miles-per-hour speed limit.

It has been done before. Along with record oil and gasoline prices, improvements in fuel efficiency and a lasting economic recession, speed limits helped curb fuel consumption for the first time in American postwar history between 1974 and 1984.

Of course, energy eventually became cheap again, the economy expanded and Americans became complacent and unwilling to make more sacrifices.

Instead of opting for small fuel-efficient cars, people switched to large sport utility vehicles and larger pickups. As drivers groaned and states fought for their right to speed, the limit was raised.

While oil consumption in most industrialized nations has either leveled off or declined, in the United States, oil demand has soared 38 percent since the first oil shock of 1973.

The Bush administration's focus over the last four years has been to increase the supply of oil and natural gas, which are also priorities for the energy industry, instead of finding ways to cut back on energy demand, which until very recently has been left out of the picture.

"We are in a boxing match, and the president keeps one hand tied to his back," said Steven Nadel, the executive director for the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, a nonprofit research group in Washington. "We're punching with supplies and not using demand. We're at a disadvantage."

Other industrialized countries, especially in Europe, have been much more successful than the United States and have managed to actually lower oil demand, or at least keep it in check. That comes from higher diesel use and higher taxes. In France and Germany, a gallon of gasoline sells for as much as $6, with taxes accounting for about 80 percent of that.

Few politicians in America might risk ridicule or rejection by explicitly supporting higher taxes on gasoline, one of the surest ways to limit the nation's dependence on oil.

"Even the least outrageous gasoline tax would have choked off some demand, and the money would have gone to our own government instead of being transferred overseas," said Robert K. Kaufmann, a professor of geography at the Center for Energy and Environmental Studies at Boston University. "Of course, that would have to involve personal sacrifice, which is off the table politically."

There are other ways to curb consumption that may be only slightly less challenging, analysts say. One would be to increase the average mileage per gallon requirement. After Congress passed legislation forcing automakers to act in 1975, average mileage almost doubled to 27.5 miles a gallon in 1987 from 14 in 1972. But it has since slipped back to 24 because of S.U.V.'s, and Congress shows no inclination to toughen the standards.

Another way to sharply reduce demand - and improve mileage - would be to encourage drivers to buy diesel cars, which offer as much as 60 percent more fuel efficiency, said Theodore R. Eck, an energy consultant and former chief economist at the Amoco oil company.

"The neat thing here is that this is off-the-shelf technology," he said. But the trade-off to diesel fuels also includes higher emissions of nitrate oxide, a pollutant that is responsible for smog.

In a recent speech, President Bush suggested that diesel cars might be made eligible for similar income tax credits as hybrid cars, which are quickly turning into best sellers with long waiting lists.

The present predicament behind high oil prices is quite different than the oil shocks of the 1970's and 1980's, which were a result of producers in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries cutting oil supplies. Today, the price shock comes from rapidly increasing demand, driven largely by China, but also by the United States and its strong car culture.

After rising 33 percent in the last year, crude oil prices in New York slipped below $50 a barrel on Friday for the first time in 10 weeks. They closed down nearly 4 percent at $49.72 a barrel.

Still, Americans can expect to pay record prices for gasoline this summer. According to the latest national average compiled by the Energy Department, gasoline prices at the pump averaged $2.24 a gallon, up 42 cents from last year; they are expected to touch a record $2.35 a gallon this summer.

Polls show that higher gasoline prices are increasingly hurting Americans, and the president is pressing Congress to revive an energy bill that has been stalled for four years.

Since the last energy shock of the 1980's, the economy as a whole has shifted toward services and away from heavy industry and is now less dependent on oil than it once was. But that has been more than offset by the rise of oil demand for the transportation sector, which accounts for two of every three barrels of crude oil consumed here; gasoline alone amounts to half the nation's oil consumption.

"We've had this situation building up for years, and yet the focus continues to be on the very long term," said Shirley Neff, an adjunct professor at Columbia University and a former economist on the Senate Energy Committee. "We have to focus on demand and be more efficient in our energy use. We need something like an Apollo program for the transportation sector."

But restricting demand might also weaken economic growth, an unpalatable prospect for any government, especially at a time when some are already blaming energy costs for a slowdown in growth.

"It's true that there is a limit to what you could achieve through a traditional energy policy in one or two years," said Fridtjof Unander, an analyst with the International Energy Agency, which advises industrialized nations on ways to reduce their consumption.

The 55 miles-per-hour speed limit came as a result of the 1973 Arab oil embargo. The Nixon administration ordered states to lower their maximum limit to save fuel at a time when the first oil shock threatened to bring the economy to a standstill.

After steadily rising each year, gasoline demand suddenly stopped growing in 1974 and remained nearly flat for the next decade, keeping oil consumption in check.

Roland Hwang, the vehicles policy director at the Natural Resources Defense Council in San Francisco, estimated the savings of the speed limit in 1983 at 2.5 billion gallons of gasoline and diesel fuel, or 2.2 percent of the total use for these types of fuels.

But as gas lines faded from people's memories and energy prices went down, the federal speed limit was relaxed in 1987, allowing states to set higher caps of 65 miles an hour. Once more, gasoline consumption surged.

Smaller efforts today could make a difference. For example, driving at 10 miles an hour above the 65 miles-per-hour limit increases fuel consumption by 15 percent; inflating tires properly cuts gasoline use by 2 percent; keeping engines idle while in line wastes millions of gallons.

The trouble is that few drivers bother with these suggestions, Mr. Hwang said. "People are basically too lazy to pump their tires up."

[riverrunner]

Yes I am really looking forward to adding another 8 to 10 hrs on my trips out west again. I was a happy camper when they did away with 55.

[usapatriot28]

If you account for all the downsizing and pay cuts that have taken place in the last 25 years we may be paying $5.00 or more per gallon(and I'm guessing here).

Where do you get that from? Over the last 25 years real wages (wages adjusted to inflation) have oscillated up and down, but are currently about 4.2% less today than they were in 1980. That's 4.2% total, not 4.2% a year. (As a historical note, almost all of that drop occurred in 1980, real wages have been fairly flat since '81 and are actually a bit higher than the 25 year average)

On the other hand, gasoline (adjusted for inflation) has fallen by about 50%. It doesn't take a math genius to figure out that if you drop wages by 4.2% and drop price by 50%, you are paying substantially less of your wages into gasoline.

[bdfromlv]

Germany also has most of its transportation needs met by trains, mostly electric. They studies also fail to mention that most of the country had to be completely rebuilt just 60 years ago. Also No one mentions that most of these countries that are examples are the size of Kansas.

[cloud8]

> The 55 mile limit induced recession...

And it made criminals of us all.

[Sooth2222]

I don't think that's "on the clearance table." VW sells a decent number of those.

At nearly $2k under the sticker price? For an economy car?

During the "real", gas-line-type fuel shortages of 1974 and 1979, VW Rabbit diesels sold for the sticker price.... that is, if you were lucky enough to be able to find one.

Carsdirect also quotes $102,120 (sticker price) for the gas-guzzling (EPA 12 MPG (city), 14 MPG (highway) 13 MPG (combined) 469 HP Mercedes-Benz G55 AMG SUV. (Governator Aahrnold drives one!)

Fuel prices are high enough to make people complain, but not high enough for them to change their purchasing or consumption patterns.

Gas is still cheaper than that imported French gassy water!

[djf]

Total baloney.

Might have been true with the old big block V8's and older tranny technology.-

Modern cars get the best mileage between 60 and 75.

[goldstategop]

It doesn't save on fuel and with a 55 MPH limit, it takes longer to where you want to go. In rural states like Montana, a 55 MPH limit makes no sense on the rural stretches between the few inhabited cities. That state has no speed limit. Our freeways were designed for a 65 MPH and should stay that way.

(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)

[Nov3]

Speed doesn't have anything to do with mileage. My truck has an overdrive gear for a reason.

Please you are embarassing yourself. Stick to stuff you know about.

[alrea]

Unmentioned Energy Fix

PRICE

[cripplecreek]

Idiot.

[traumer]

Won't work.
You never get the SUV drivers to go below 70 mph....

[Numbers Guy]

In rural states like Montana, a 55 MPH limit makes no sense on the rural stretches between the few inhabited cities. That state has no speed limit.

I drove a 5.7l V-8 in Montana when the speed limit there was "safe and reasonable" (due to a court case they had to implement a specific limit a few years ago). I probably averaged 100 mph outside the cities. My mileage? 25 mpg, exactly what my car was listed at. And my car, it was like a big dog that finally gets a chance to get out in the open fields and run, the engine was purring.

As others have noted, the notion that cars get maximum fuel efficiency at or around 55 mph is simply asinine. The cars I had were most fuel efficient at 70-80 mph.

Only a Manhattan (NY, not Kansas) resident could come up with something so utterly ignorant.

[Nov3]

Idiot

I assume you are talking about yourself. Your statement was plain ignorant.

[gatorgriz]

I live in Montana and in Montana there's a lot of dirt between light bulbs... So the NYT can take their 55 MPH and pack it where the sun don't shine... What might work in the Northeast Corridor doesn't fit out here in the Big Sky where a short drive to town often exceeds 100 miles; and that's one way.

[cripplecreek]

OK genius, provide me with the evidence of speed being related to gas mileage. After all your comment was nothing but insult that proved nothing but your arrogance minus reason for you to be that way.

[wita]

...and that my friend is the element left out of all of the feel good equations on fuel economy, and that is how much longer the engine will be running at 55 compared to 65 or 75 or 85. Speed and economy are functions of technology, and should not be abandoned for the show side of economy.

My car would be running a day and a half longer on a cross country trip. Miles per gallon be hanged, I can't run an engine two days longer than the 75 MPH cross country trip and say I'm conserving anything, and especially not T I M E. If gas prices remain high that will solve the SUV problem to a point, but only to a point.

Those with large families and those who haul lots of people are needing the large capacity vehicles, not to mention those who have cargo needs of large vehicles because of the work they do. Allowing two idiots who may write an emotional article for the New York Times, to dictate how or what I drive does not sit well with me or anyone else who knows quite specifically what we need for vehicles.

[Lockbox]

Want to save fuel?

Ban Newspapers from printing and delivering their product.

"Print" newspapers on the internet.

Now NYTs if you really want to save wasted fuel you would push this solution!

[dalereed]

"driving at 10 miles an hour above the 65 miles-per-hour"

Total BS!

I get my beswt milage btween 75 and 80.

[NEBUCHADNEZZAR1961]

After steadily rising each year, gasoline demand suddenly stopped growing in 1974 and remained nearly flat for the next decade, keeping oil consumption in check.

What a lie. Demand for gasoline rose and fell with economic good times and bad time. It rose and fell depending on many foreign events such as the 1978 shortfall and Reagan's deregulation. Leave it to the NYT to say its the 55 speed that takes credit.

[Nowhere Man]

There I had to listen to some Fleetwood Mac and Eagles on the radio, now I am finally in the mood to post. B-)

Still though it is time to bring on the "Aw Jeez Guy:"