Reducing speeds, and the number of drivers

Re “Powerless against nature,” editorial, Sept. 1

For more than half a century I have been advocating rationing the right to drive. Over those years I have promulgated the idea’s direct and collateral advantages to various publications and agencies concerned with traffic congestion -- from the Department of Transportation in Washington to the L.A. Times.

Because the response continued to be minimal, I came to the realization that only a major catastrophe, or the total depletion of familiar sources of energy, would finally open the doors to rationing.

Perhaps inadvertently, your editorial includes some of the reasons why limiting the right to drive is inevitable.

LOUIS M. NEUMARK

Tarzana

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Re the gas crisis: Why can’t we reinstate the 55 mph speed limit?

LORRAINE ZEMAITIS JOYCE

Northridge