Most Wisconsin residents may view record gas prices as bad news, as a negative influence on the economy. But there is some good news that goes with $4 a gallon gas.
Traffic deaths in Wisconsin and around the country are in sharp decline. And that's good news no matter how you look at it.
In Wisconsin, the state Department of Transportation says preliminary statistics show traffic deaths are down about 27 percent compared to 2007.
They may not be directly connected, but traffic deaths are declining at the same time Americans are cutting back on driving. Many drivers are slowing down to conserve fuel, so they're having fewer fatal crashes.
Nationwide, researchers with the National Safety Council report a 9 percent drop in motor vehicle deaths through May, compared with the same period of 2007.
Other factors for the decline could include police increasing pursuit of speeders and drunken drivers, safer vehicles and a seat-belt use rate of nearly 90 percent.
These, too, are positives for all citizens of Wisconsin.
The last time U.S. road deaths declined this sharply and quickly was during the Arab oil embargo in 1973-74, when nationwide fatalities tumbled from about 55,100 to 46,000.
One thing the government did then was to impose a nationwide 55 mph speed limit.
With gas so expensive, state legislators have started talking about doing that at the state level - on state highways and interstates.
Their goal is to conserve fuel, but lower speed limits would also decrease traffic deaths.
It's well-intended conversation, but speed limits exist for public safety's sake; they're not in place to conserve fuel.
Many motorists are already adhering to the speed limit, or driving closer to it, and the marketplace - higher oil prices - are a driving factor.
There's other ways the government can urge citizens to conserve fuel. The choice of 55 mph or 65 mph ought to be left up to the individual motorist.
Traffic deaths in Wisconsin and around the country are in sharp decline. And that's good news no matter how you look at it.
In Wisconsin, the state Department of Transportation says preliminary statistics show traffic deaths are down about 27 percent compared to 2007.
They may not be directly connected, but traffic deaths are declining at the same time Americans are cutting back on driving. Many drivers are slowing down to conserve fuel, so they're having fewer fatal crashes.
Nationwide, researchers with the National Safety Council report a 9 percent drop in motor vehicle deaths through May, compared with the same period of 2007.
Other factors for the decline could include police increasing pursuit of speeders and drunken drivers, safer vehicles and a seat-belt use rate of nearly 90 percent.
These, too, are positives for all citizens of Wisconsin.
The last time U.S. road deaths declined this sharply and quickly was during the Arab oil embargo in 1973-74, when nationwide fatalities tumbled from about 55,100 to 46,000.
One thing the government did then was to impose a nationwide 55 mph speed limit.
With gas so expensive, state legislators have started talking about doing that at the state level - on state highways and interstates.
Their goal is to conserve fuel, but lower speed limits would also decrease traffic deaths.
It's well-intended conversation, but speed limits exist for public safety's sake; they're not in place to conserve fuel.
Many motorists are already adhering to the speed limit, or driving closer to it, and the marketplace - higher oil prices - are a driving factor.
There's other ways the government can urge citizens to conserve fuel. The choice of 55 mph or 65 mph ought to be left up to the individual motorist.
