Column: Quick, Long-term Fixes Needed For Oil Woes

This story was written by Bailey Lewis, Iowa State Daily

A quick fix is never perfect. But some quick fixes are less perfect than others.

Example: In order to decrease oil prices, Sen. John Warner has proposed a national speed limit of 55 or 60 miles per hour, similar to the one imposed in 1974.

According to Warner, the last national limit saved 167,000 barrels of gas per day.

Many people just assume that means it will save that much again.

Warner says, "Given the significant increase in the number of vehicles on America's highway system from 1974 to 2008, one could assume that the amount of fuel that could be conserved today is far greater."

Don't assume so quickly.

Gas mileage does seem to go down at speeds higher than 60 mph. According to the United States Department of Energy's Web site, "Each 5 mph you drive over 60 mph is like paying an additional $0.30 per gallon for gas."

But cars and driving are very different from 1974 or even 1995, when the national limit was finally repealed. Cars are designed to go faster. Interstate and highway curves have been designed to be safe at higher speeds. Few even obey the 65 or 70 mile per hour limit. We've become used to speed. And no one is going to putter across Nebraska at 55 miles per hour anymore. It has one of the highest maximum speed limits in the country for a reason.

Google Maps helped me figure out that traveling on I-80 from Omaha, Nebraska on the eastern border of the state to Pine Bluffs on the western border currently takes about six hours and fifteen minutes. If the speed limit that whole way was 60, it would take about seven hours and forty minutes.

I'm not sure how much gas you'd really be saving.

There are other, less intrusive methods we should be trying before national legislation.

One of the gas-saving tips given by the United States Energy Department's Web site is to "avoid excessive idling." How many times have you been sitting at a red light for an extended period of time when no other cars were in sight?

Our local governments should re-time all the lights or even make them motion-sensored so that they're more efficient in traffic flow. In fact, after a certain time of night a lot of the intersections would probably be fine with a blinking red light. However, this would be something for each locality to decide on its own.

Long-lasting construction detours and closings also cause people to waste gas as they drive the long way around to get to their destinations.

In larger cities, there are constant traffic jams.

Local authorities could take measures to minimize construction length as well as allow better traffic flow in constantly jammed areas.

Public transportation is another method people are already turning to. In Ames, we are lucky to have CyRide, but how about a bus that goes from Ames to Des Moines and back on a regular basis?

Instead of passing legislation, Congress could instigate a campaign to make drivers aware of how much gas they expend over 60 miles per hour. It might be enough to make people consider driving more slowly or buy a more fuel-efficient car.

Of course, measures like traffic lights and buses won't fix the problem. They're just quick fixes. However, they would be less intrusive and more convenient.

People are already making changes to use less gas: carpooling, making fewer trips, taking the bus, etc. Utah has established an experimental four-day workweek for its state employees. Sounds pretty good to me.

Let individuals and the local governments work out the quick fixes. The national government needs to be working on the long-term soltions.