The Congressional Toyota Follies

Oh! What a feeling (sorry, couldn’t resist) I had about the Toyota hearings when I read that Michigan congressman Bart Stupak would be chairing the hearings. At least his district doesn’t actually contain Detroit, but the collapse of the American auto industry has hurt the entire state of Michigan, and with Stupak reportedly eyeing a run for governor, the temptation to grandstand must be immense.

But nothing I’ve read about Stupak’s performance at the hearings compares to the comments made today by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, as related by Megan McArdle. Mark Souder of Indiana’s 3rd District had some questions regarding the tradeoffs between safety and other concerns:

[A]s Souder pointed out, lowering the speed limit to 30 mph would save a lot of lives, but we don’t do it. Aren’t there tradeoffs, he asked.

At which point Secretary LaHood achieved liftoff and rapidly departed reality. He responded that lowering the speed limit to 30 mph would not save any lives, which is why we have minimum speeds on highways. Representative Souder looked just as flummoxed as I was; did the Secretary of Transportation really not understand that the minimum speed limit exists to ensure that traffic is travelling at basically the same speed–which is indeed safer than allowing wide speed differentials? Could he possibly believe that it was actually safer to drive 40 mph than to drive 30 mph?

Yes, apparently he could. When Souder pointed out that the minimum existed in order to minimize speed differentials, LaHood proclaimed, “I don’t buy your argument, Mr. Souder”. Secretary LaHood seems to be arguing that the laws of the United States override the laws of physics.