In praise of slow - Sen. John Warner, R-Virginia
WASHINGTON (AP) — 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.
Synopsis:
- Congress in 1974 set a national 55 mph speed limit because of energy shortages
- 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.
- Spokeswoman for DOE says “If Congress is serious about addressing gasoline prices, they must take action on expanding domestic oil and natural gas production.”
- fuel efficiency decreases rapidly when traveling faster than 60 mph. Every additional 5 mph over that threshold is estimated to cost motorists “essentially an additional 30 cents per gallon in fuel costs,”
Hip hip hooray for a Republican…wow that sounded weird.
