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From: mzal@pegasus.UUCP (Mike Zaleski)
Newsgroups: net.auto
Subject: Re: Change the 55 mph law
Message-ID: <1452@pegasus.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 27-Jun-84 12:24:41 EDT
Article-I.D.: pegasus.1452
Posted: Wed Jun 27 12:24:41 1984
Date-Received: Thu, 28-Jun-84 05:34:07 EDT
Organization: AT&T Information Systems, Lincroft NJ
Lines: 67


  [Excerpts from Joe Heneghan]:
  1. Organize a nationwide lobby:

This is exactly the kind of thing I was (sort of) encouraging in my
55 MPH message.

    a.) We can arrive at a foundation of
        reasons to justify an increase in
        the speed limit.

As I have already said, the only foundations of reasons I see are
in our desires to enjoy driving fast and get places more quickly.

    b.) People could write editorials to the media.

I suppose we could do this, but I believe more people would be
swayed by emotional, slickly designed advertisements along the
lines I suggested in my previous message on this subject.  Such
a campaign could be coordinated by the "motorists lobby" as
described above.

    c.) Enact a write-in campaign to legislators

I have written to every appropriate legislator.  The answers
ranged from "no answer" to disagreement with me.

  2. Have a "speed in" at some future date for an hour
     at 65 mph. This way no one has to blow off their
     vacation or whatever. Of course conditions would
     have to be safe.

I believe this would not work for two reasons:
1. The authorities would simply ticket as many people as they
could, those few would suffer, and no incentive would be given
for the authorities to do anything.
2. It would be precieved as as evidence of the reckless nature
of the people behind the movement - i.e. encouraging violation
of the law.  You would be compated to murders, rapists, and other
forms of low life.

Again, the idea behind my "Too Slow, Why Go?" campaign and
driving boycott is that there will be definite economic loss.
People will sit up and take notice of that.

Several years ago, CBS ran a TV program called "The Guns of
Autumn" - an anti-hunting program.  The NRA threatened to call
for a boycott of any corporation which advertised during that
program.  The result?  Every advertiser withdrew their support
and the program was run with public service advertisements
only.

Now you may not like the NRA or agree with any of their goals,
but you must admit that their method was both effective in
altering the behavior of businesses and it was legal.
It is my belief that if a significant number of people agreed
not to drive anywhere on one weekend and various businesses
saw significant losses, they would force some sort of action.
And, even if this method fails completely, it does not preclude
trying other techniques.

How might we organize such a motorist's lobby?  One suggestion
I have is to write to the various car magazines and encourage
their editors to band together on this issue.  Any such organization
would need to reach a large number of driving enthusiasts.

-- Mike^Z         Zaleski@Rutgers        allegra!pegasus!mzal