THE ACCESS ALMANAC: Love, Lies, and Transportation in LA, Again: An Updated Almanac in Honor of Mel Webber
Charles Lave
An Updated Almanac in Honor of Mel Webber.
A New CAFÉ
Charles Lave
Over the past six months, a National Academy of Sciences panel has been working intensively on a congressionally mandated evaluation of federal regulations on fuel economy in cars. The panel concluded that significant, cost-effective, safety-enhancing improvements were possible. Its report received extensive peer review and was published under the aegis of the National Research Council in a report titled “Effectiveness and Impact of Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE ) Standards.” I was a member of that panel and in the following two essays, I want to review of some of the issues raised in its deliberations. The analytic material comes from the panel’s report; the opinions are my own.
THE ACCESS ALMANAC: Déjà Vu All Over Again, Speed Limits Raised Fatalities Fall
Charles Lave
Despite opposition from many nation safety groups, in November 1995 Congress gave the states permission to raise speed limits. Opponents had testified that raising speed limits would cause and additional 4,400 to 6,000 deaths per year. Fortunately, it didn’t work out that way.
THE ACCESS ALMANAC: Travel by Carless Households
Richard Crepeau and
Charles Lave
Over the past thirty years the federal government has funded extensive programs to improve travel options for people who do not have their own vehicles. During this same period, independent of government actions, economic and demographic trends have diminished the target population and made vehicle access nearly universal, even among the poorest households. In 1969, 20.6 percent of households (HHs) had no vehicle. By 1983 this ratio had fallen to 13.5 percent. By 1990, it fell to 9.2 percent of HHs. Further, HHs without vehicles tend to be smaller than average, so in 1990 the zero-vehicle HHs comprised only 6.4 percent of the population.
Are Americans Really Driving So Much More?
Charles Lave
Many people seem to think that increased VMT (vehicle miles traveled) spells trouble. VMT growth bothers environmentalists because it implies greater energy consumption and pollution. VMT growth concerns urban planners because it suggests increased sprawl and decreased transit use.
Higher Speed Limits May Save Lives
Charles Lave
Congress may soon pass a law that allows states to set their own speed limit. What might happen if state choose to raise these? We don’t need to guess. We can examine what happened when states were allowed to raise certain speed limits in 1987. The result: Higher speed limits caused and overall gain in safety.
THE ACCESS ALMANAC: Slowdown Ahead For the Domestic Auto Industry
Charles Lave
Figure 1 has some interesting patterns and some disquieting implications. The big fluctuation in sales reflects the business cycle. Cars are durable, long-lived goods; they don't necessarily have to be replaced in any given year. So when the economy is down, people can postpone new-car purchases.
Growth is another obvious pattern in the graph. Yearly vehicle sales doubled between 1960 and 1973. Given the enormous size and widespread influence of the auto industry, this boom was a major force behind the growth of the U.S. economy.
