Surprise! Past liberal hype proven far off the mark

So I was just beginning my political interest in 1994, but big things were happening. Republicans swept into Congresisonal power after 40 years of democrat rule and made some big changes in the role of government in our everyday lives.

The one topic I'm currently researching involves the federally-mandated 55 mph speed limit. Passed in 1974 to cut our fuel consumption, Republicans moved to repeal the law in 1994 after a long lobbying battle by the National Motorists Association (props to them for building public support).

Liberal icons like Ralph Nader and Ted Kennedy predicted a humongous death toll from such a hard-hearted bill to let families scoot a little more expeditiously across the western plain. Ralph Nader even said that "history will never forgive Congress for this assault on the sanctity of human life." Clinton's Transportation Secretary made the talk-show circuit to oppose such a barbaric measure. (Later, a secod-term Clinton Transportation Secrtary wanted to take credit for making 1997 “one of the safest years on American roads in U.S. history.”) A liberal magazien claimed that Republicans “buried moral leadership in the rich opportunities afforded by political power.”

So, ten years later where are we? Are passengers taking their lives into their own hands every time they approach an onramp?

Not even close. To be more fiar to them than they deserve, overall fatalities have increased from 36,254 in 1994 to 38,252 in 2003 (latest stats): there are almost 2000 more deaths each year, or a 5.5% increase. However, Americans travel 520 billion miles more, an increase of 22.1%. It turns out that by any measure-- deaths per mile, deaths per population, deaths per automobile-- fatalities have staedily fallen.

This isn't just an example of somebody being wrong about some event that might or might not happen ten years in the future. And nobody would claim that this means increasing the speed limit is the way to prevent more deaths. I think it's indicative of Republicans adopting better public policy.

Why would the federal government know better than more local authorities what the speed limit on a given road should be? What is so magical about the number '55' that makes it the perfect limit for all roads? Nobody doubted the federal government had the ability to enforce the law (states with more than 50% of interstate highway drivers cruising above 55 mph would be ineligible for highway funds) but is it good public policy to have a government that wantonly mandates edicts for everyone to follow? **More importantly to today's scenarios,** will it be the death of millions of people if we question liberals and their big government philosophy?

A topic for another debate: requiring stronger fuel standards and forcing companies to make lighter vehicles actually does kill thousands of people...