Liberals proved spectacularly wrong about traffic deaths by Russ Vaughn
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has just issued a report showing that traffic deaths in America were last year at their lowest level since 1949. This despite the fact that the population has more than doubled from 153 million in 1950 to 308 million in 2010. Certainly there are many reasons for the drop in fatalities, and intensive campaigns against drunk driving has accounted for much of this good news. The NHTSA gives its self some pats on the back for initiating and supporting safety programs, some of which I've never seen mention of.
What goes unsaid in all of this, however, is the glaring contradiction by city-dwelling, unicorn-riding liberals that higher speed limits would inevitably lead to more highway traffic deaths. Recall that we had a congressionally-imposed National Maximum Speed Law from 1974 until 1995 which originally imposed a 55 mph highway speed limit across the country, even on interstate roadways until it was repealed by a Republican congress. Do you recall all the liberal doomsayers predicting the horrible increase in highway traffic deaths that would result?
In the past three days I drove more than 750 miles through eastern New Mexico and West Texas. Texas wisely increased its speed limits after the repeal and now has 75 mph limits on many rural two-lane highways in the wide, sparsely-inhabited spaces of West Texas and limits of 80 mph on interstate highways in that wide region. And in the past few days has come news that the Texas legislature is contemplating elimination of reduced nighttime speed limits and the establishment of a 75 mph limit on all two-lane farm and ranch roads.
Unfortunately, when one crosses the Texas-New Mexico border into the latter, they can expect to encounter the beneficent tyranny of a Democrat-controlled nanny state where speed limits as low as 55 mph may be imposed inexplicably on stretches of little-used highways crossing vast expanses of unpopulated desert. For that we can thank Democrat Bill Richardson, who spent eight years trying to remake New Mexico into New Jersey, and his lapdog Democrat legislature.
But the million-dollar question arising from the fed's latest revelation about traffic deaths is what happened to that huge increase in such deaths that liberals were sure would follow increased speed limits? The accuracy of these moonbats in predicting disasters resulting from common-sense legislating by conservative Republican governments is exemplified by this NHTSA report. Consider as well as their equally bogus predictions of massive increases in gun-related deaths associated with expanded concealed-carry legislation. These Chicken-Little Libs just love making themselves miserable with fears of impending disasters that never come to pass.
OK, you libs were wrong on speed limits, now let's talk about global warming...
And drilling in the Gulf...
And Wisconsin...
Poster Comment:
55 MPH speed limit = speed trap for taking your money and giving it to a loser..
