Department+of+Transportation

=**The Department of Transportation**= ==

By: Andrew Holland and Nick Wiener = =

In the Department of Transportation (DOT) their mission statement is to

"Serve the United States by ensuring a fast, safe, efficient, accessible and convenient transportation system that meets our vital national interests and enhances the quality of life of the American people, today and into the future."

Some of their current leaders are Ray Lahood who is the secretary of transportation. He came into office on January 26 2009 by then President elect Obama. Secretary Lahood main goals are to create more safe modes of transportation, restoring economic health and create new jobs for Americans. Next below Lahood would be the deputy secretary of transportation who is named Admiral Thomas J. Barrett. He is responsible for the everyday management of the Dot's budget. Also he is responsible for the Dot's 60,000 employs. The DOT was established by Congress on October 15 1966,and their first official day was April 1, 1967. The DOT is in charge of the Federal Aviation Administration or also know as FAA. The FAA oversees the safety of civil aviation. They want to ensure the safety of every aircraft. Also the FAA enforces regulations and standards related to the manufacture, operation, certification and maintenance of an aircraft. The FAA also oversees the Federal Highway Administration. The FHWA coordinates highway transportation programs in cooperation with states and other partners to ensure the country's safety. This program provides funds for general improvements and development of safe highways and roads.

Article Summary by Andrew Holland: Last week Air Force One Flew There plane over New York City. The Obama administration wanted Air Force one in a couple of pictures with the empire state building and the statue of Liberty.This caused a lot of people to be get scared because the memory of 9/11 was to vivid for the people of NYC. The Department of Transportation should have looked at this and thought that this would not be good for the people of New York City because they were all affected by 9/11 in all different ways. This picture caused thousands of people to run out of their office buildings. Also according to Fox News these couple of pictures cost taxes payers around 328,000 dollars.

I think the Obama administration and the DOT should have thought about this move a little more before they actually went for it and did it. They should have put our tax dollars to something a little more productive. Also they scared many of the people of New York City. Another thing is that the white house wont even show these beautiful pictures of the Air Force One over NYC.

Three Articles: 1. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,519137,00.html 2. http://edition.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/05/06/air.force.one.flyover/ 3.http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/04/air_force_one_photo_op_over_ny.html

Article Summaries by Nick Wiener
 * __Issue = Lowering national speed limit to 55__**

1. A Virginia Senator, John Warner, senator is proposing to lower the national speed limit to 55 miles an hour. He made note of a study that says driving 55 would save the nation 167,000 barrels of oil a day because that's when many cars are most fuel efficient. The last time the speed limit was 55 was 1974 during the Arab oil embargo. For every mile per hour faster than 55 mph, fuel economy drops by about one-percent so the bottom line is that it will save gas. Some people are highly against it because they think it will just cause an increase is speeding tickets. http://www.kfvs12.com/Global/story.asp?S=8663818&nav=8H3x

2. Senator John Warner proposed studying what would be the optimal speed limit for efficiency as a way to rethink the national speed limit. A national speed limit lower than 65 mph would cause enforcement agencies to spend more of their budget on speeding enforcement. People don't follow the 65 mph limit now, they drive just as fast as they think they safely can go. The national tractor-trailer fleets have begun restricting their drivers to lower and lower speeds in hopes of cutting down on rising diesel bills. But if they lower their speed, trucks will travel fewer miles in a day, which means more driving time. Most people are asking: “Lower speeds might save oil, but will they truly save the economy?” and “Is it really worth it?” http://www.hsconnect.com/page/content.detail/id/505322.html

3. In a letter to U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman, Warner asked the Department of Energy to investigate the possible impacts of lowering speed limits. Warner wants the department to indicate what speed would be best for fuel efficiency and whether lower speed limits would translate to any relief at the pump. In this letter, Warner told DOE data that gasoline mileage tends to decline considerably at speeds faster than 60 mph. He also says that lowering the speed limit would save lives and he says that we have already seen and proven this. One of his main points was that every 5 mph over 55 equals about paying an extra 30 cents per gallon. Many do not think it is that drastic. http://www.scnow.com/scp/news/local/pee_dee/article/demint_says_lowering_speed_limit_isnt_the_answer_to_gas_woes/10524/

I think the Obama administration should not lower the national speed limit because all this will do is make it more expensive for cops to have to monitor highways. It will also make more people get speeding tickets. People are not going to slow down just because the speed limit says so. If the speed limit on the highway was 55 people would still drive 65. It has yet to been proven that every 5 mph over 55 equals about paying an extra 30 cents per gallon.

Conclusion: Since one of the main goals of DOT is to promote safety of drivers we have to take in the consideration of how much safer the roads will be if the limit is lowered to 55mph. For example: A typical American driver (Below) would drive 65mph on a 65mph speed limit, usually with out any danger. If the speed limit is lowered to 55mph would he really drive any slower or safer? No. He would continue driving at a speed that he feels is safe.