Senator Wants National Speed Limit to Save Gas

Back on June 9th a wise pundit wrote the following:

How long until some idiot Democrat (or John McCain) suggests that we roll the speed limit back to 55 like they did in 1974?

The pundit got the party wrong. The call to set a national speed limit is coming from a retiring Republican Senator:

WASHINGTON — 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-Va., 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 The speed limit was repealed in 1995 when crude oil dipped to $17 a barrel and gasoline cost $1.10 a gallon.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.

Warner cited studies that showed the 55 mph speed limit saved 167,000 barrels of oil a day, or 2 percent of the country's highway fuel consumption, while avoiding up to 4,000 traffic deaths a year.

"Given the significant increase in the number of vehicles on America's highway system from 1974 to 2008, one could assume that the amount of fuel that could be conserved today is far greater," Warner wrote Bodman.

Warner asked the department to determine at what speeds vehicles would be most fuel efficient, how much fuel savings would be achieved, and whether it would be reasonable to assume there would be a reduction in prices at the pump if the speed limit were lowered.

To their credit the Energy Department offered the appropriate response:

Energy Department spokeswoman Angela Hill said the department will review Warner's letter but added, "If Congress is serious about addressing gasoline prices, they must take action on expanding domestic oil and natural gas production."

I don't care where they put the speed limit, it's not going to have as much effect as their scientific studies suggest. A handful of people will slow down, but most of us have gotten quite used to the speeds we drive and we're not interested in a new nanny state speed limit.

And may I suggest a new rule for Congress? Members who have announced their retirements and aren't running for reelection should not be allowed to introduce legislation. Once they become unaccountable to the voters they're dangerous and prone to bad ideas.