Almost a quarter-century later, an environmental activist organization says slow down, and pay no attention to the former lead singer for the rock group Van Halen.
For the Memorial Day weekend, the Sierra Club has launched the “I can drive 55” campaign they say will save gas and money, and curb carbon emissions.
Citing the Union of Concerned Scientists, the campaign claims on average “dropping from 75 to 55 improves fuel efficiency by 30.6 percent,” and “in a family sedan, every 10 mph you drive over 60 is like paying 54 cents per gallon more for gas you bought at $3.25 a gallon.”
That price - $3.25 - would actually be a bargain in Bell County today.
Jeffrey Edmondson of Belton pumped 13 gallons into his Suzuki XL-7, a sporty SUV, Wednesday morning at a truck stop on Interstate 35. At $3.73 a gallon, he paid more than 50 bucks for the fillup. He remembers paying less than $1 per gallon back in the ’80s when the speed limit was 55 nationwide.
“Nobody drove it back then,” Edmondson said, and “nobody would go 55 today.” He is already driving slow, however, and said he gets about 24 miles per gallon.
Just south of the truck stop, cars and trucks streamed in and out of the Interstate 35 rest area near Salado. Robert Starling works as an attendant there, and says everyone is complaining about gas prices, but won’t slow down.
“See that guy right there,” Sterling points to a northbound, red 18-wheeler, “He ain’t doing 65. They’re not going to drive the speed limit.”
Holding a can of Dr Pepper and smoking a cigarette, Starling’s voice is drowned out by a delivery van roaring out of the rest area, headed toward the entrance ramp. Starling shrugs.
“They do it all the time.”
Mae Belle Stringer piloted a Ford van into the rest area on the way to Arlington to deliver a couch to her son. Her husband, Tom, said high gas prices would not slow him down.
“I would just pay. As long as I have the money I’ll just spend it on the gas,” said Stringer. “I want to get where I’m going.”
Henry Moczygemba, on the way to Nashville with his wife, Rose, in a maroon Lincoln Continental, said driving 55 would take a change of attitude for people like the Stringers.
“That’s the problem, people are so impatient,” said Moczygemba, looking out the driver’s side window. “If I did a lot of driving, that’s what I would do,” he said, regarding driving 55 mph.
Donna Hoffman, communication coordinator with the Sierra Club’s Lone Star chapter agrees. She said driving 55 was good for enjoying Texas’ wide-open spaces.
“On Memorial Day weekend in Texas, we often have to drive a long way. It may seem like slowing down - 70 to 55 - but it’s really like getting paid to relax.”
The science behind better gas mileage at slower speeds simply relies on wind resistance. Consumer Reports says more than half of an engine’s power is used in overcoming drag, which increases with speed. On their test run, “Slowing from 75 to 55 mph boosted gas mileage 33 percent in our sedan and in a large SUV.”
But not all vehicles are created equal. And according to the U.S. Department of Energy, “each vehicle reaches its optimal fuel economy at a different speed (or range of speeds), gas mileage usually decreases rapidly at speeds above 60 mph.”
Roger Clark, a fuel economy engineer at General Motors told CNNMoney.com about 40 percent of a car’s energy is used pushing through air. And higher speed makes the job harder.
In 1987, Congress permitted states to set a maximum speed limit of 65 on interstate highways outside urban areas. In 1995, the federal government gave states authority to set all speed limits.
A spokeswoman for Texas Sen. Troy Fraser said no constituents have appealed to him to lower the speed limit, and no discussion was planned for the 2009 Legislative session.
For Memorial Day, Sammy Hagar is playing at Browns Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio. He couldn’t be reached to ask if his bus driver has a lead foot, or what mileage he gets.
