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GAO’s answer to Senator John Warner's letter asking about speed and energy efficiency confirms that slowing down saves energy and therefore reduces pollution and consumption of petroleum. Of particular interest is the following from pages 4-5:

“In general, over the last 2 decades, fuel economy gains resulting from advances in automotive technologies have largely been offset by increases in vehicle weight, performance, and accessory loads. Specifically, vehicles are heavier than in the past, because they are larger and include more technologies. For example, average vehicle weight has increased from 3,220 pounds in 1987 to 4,117 in 2008, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).”

“In addition, trends show that recent vehicles, on average, have bigger, more powerful engines that yield better performance—i.e., acceleration and greater speed—at the expense of fuel economy. For example, according to the same EPA report, average horsepower has increased from 118 to 222 over the same period. Further, increased accessory loads, such as air conditioning and electronics, have also reduced fuel economy. According to EPA, from 1987 through 2004, on a fleetwide basis, technology innovation was utilized exclusively to support market-driven attributes other than fuel economy, such as performance.”

It is also notable that GAO confirms savings of up to 630,000 barrels per day (3% of 21 million) are likely with just 50% compliance according to their research:

“In calculating these estimates, DOE assumed, among other things, a compliance rate of 50 percent and that the speed limit would affect 35 percent of on-road (highway) mileage, which means roughly a third of travel is on roads where a decrease in the speed limit would have an effect. DOE’s estimates include savings from on-road heavy duty trucks”.

The GAO letter confirms these key facts.

1.    Economy drops off rapidly and exponentially for all vehicles at speeds above 35-45 MPH.
2.    Even at just 50% compliance with a national speed limit, on 35% of mileage, the nation will save up to 630,000 barrels per day, possibly much more.
3.    The corresponding reduction in pollution, congestion and traffic deaths remain to be quantified.
4.    Manufacturers have done nothing to improve economy for decades.

Imported oil as a percent of U.S. consumption

In 1974 the 55 MPH national speed limit was enacted as an emergency measure to reduce our dependence on imported crude oil that totaled about 36% of U.S. consumption. It worked and 1985 marked a record low of less than 28% imported oil. About this same time Sammy Hagar's "I Can't Drive Fifty Five" was made popular and in 1987 congress relaxed the law to allow 65 MPH on Rural Highways. Consumption of imported oil began to skyrocket but nonetheless in 1996 the national 55 MPH speed limit was repealed and 12 years later, in 2008, U.S. dependence on imported oil has more than doubled to over 60%. The top 5 sources of imported oil, in order, are Canada, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Venezuela and Nigeria. On August 31, 2008, Sammy Hagar helped kick off the Republican National Convention by performing his old hit.

Click to enlarge chart showing increasing oil imports
Click to enlarge graphic.

Drive 55 bumper stickers

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Action almost everyone can do now

In response to the following email we are pleased to announce several new bumper stickers you can ORDER HERE.

Drive 55 Conservation Project bumperstickers

Dear Folks,

Last week I sent this letter out to a number of conservation organizations, and also to Yes! magazine. They asked me for a reference and I couldn't find it, so I googled "55 speed limit mideast oil" and BINGO! "You've been doing this for a while. Why hasn't it caught on?" I suggest a new bumpersticker :

55 FOR PEACE
55 FOR POLAR BEARS
55 TO STOP GLOBAL WARMING, etc.

Text of my earlier letter:

Here’s an action almost everyone can do immediately that will reduce global warming. DRIVE SLOWER.

I read in a recent Sierra Club magazine that if the whole country went back to the 55mph speed limit (as we did in the first oil crisis back in the 70s) it would save the amount of oil we import from the Persian Gulf. We don't have to wait for the Government, we can drive 55 right now. How about some sort of campaign: Drive 55, keep the earth alive! or 55 for polar bears! 55 for peace! People could display a bumper sticker, so we'd know who we are as we drive down the highway.

I'm already doing it. I’ve been doing it for 3 years, since I bought my Honda Hybrid. It has a clever LED readout of my average mileage, so I tested it on the highway, and at 55mph my car gets 55mpg. At 60 it drops to about 52, at 65 it’s down to about 47. It’s true, it does require some sacrifice. It takes longer to get places. But you know what? It doesn’t take that much longer. Every time the needle creeps up to 60 I remember polar bears and slow down. It makes me feel good.

A lot of different groups could suggest their members do this: environmental groups, peace groups - almost every problem we are struggling with could be helped by slowing down.

Thanks,

Jenny Deupree
in Franconia, NH

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Thank you Jenny, and also all the others who have sent email and encouragement. This new website is for you. Our goal: One Million Drive 55 bumperstickers!

Tim

Small Cars Save Big at 55 MPH

The amount of energy saved as a result of drivers observing ALL speed limits and never exceeding 55 MPH will increase over time as the vehicle fleet of large units is replaced by smaller "downsized" models. While slowing down reduces energy consumption for all vehicles, smaller vehicles fuel economy suffers more at high speeds than larger vehicles do. In fact, as the following chart shows, at speeds over 70 MPH a small vehicle will use nearly as much energy as larger ones, negating the benefits of its smaller size and weight!