Wired magazine seems to have seen CNN’s recent item on reducing the national speed limit to 55 mph by Jack Cafferty [he seemed so much more sane when he was on Fox 5 New York, by the way], and chimed in yesterday with their own examination of the issue, bearing the earnest title, “With Gas Prices Rising and the Planet Warming, Is It Time To Drive 55 Again?”

The U.S. Department of Energy says gas mileage plummets above 60 mph and says every 5 mph above that speed is akin to paying an additional $0.20 per gallon for gas. But the American Heritage Foundation claims 12 years of 55 mph speed limits cut fuel consumption by just 1 percent. After Congress repealed the National Maximum Speed Law and 33 states raised their speed limits, the Cato Institute said traffic deaths dropped to a record low.
More than fuel economy and traffic deaths are at stake now. “Emissions increase pretty appreciably above 55,” McNaull says. drive55.org claims Washington state would cut CO2 emissions by 10 percent if it cut its 70 mph speed limit by 15 mph. But even here, the evidence is debated. The Automobile Association in England claims reducing the speed limit from 30 mph to 20 on residential roads would increase CO2 emission by more than 10%.

Of course, Wired fails to account for the lost productivity from having everyone out on the roads for that much longer every day. [Don Boudreaux did, back when Hillary Clinton proposed reinstituting the 55 mph limit back in 2006.] But otherwise, a surprisingly balanced debate.

But it’s too bad Sammy Hagar couldn’t be reached for comment.