Limit Driving Speed to Save on Gas?

by Jarrett Martineau | July 3, 2008 at 07:11 pm

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Will driving slower really save gasoline and "ease fuel prices"? Sen. John Warner believes it will. No indication yet if Congress would support such an initiative in 2008, though the idea isn't without precedent.

Alternatively, couldn't people simple drive less?

An influential Republican senator suggested Thursday that Congress might want to consider reimposing a national speed limit to save gasoline and possibly ease fuel prices.
Sen. John Warner, R-Virginia, asked Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman to look into what speed limit would provide optimum gasoline efficiency given current technology. He said he wants to know if the administration might support efforts in Congress to require a lower speed limit.

Congress in 1974 set a national 55 mph speed limit because of energy shortages caused by the Arab oil embargo. The speed limit was repealed in 1995 when crude oil dipped to $17 a barrel and gasoline cost $1.10 a gallon.

As motorists headed on trips for this Fourth of July weekend, gasoline averaged $4.10 a gallon nationwide, with oil hovering around $145 a barrel.