He talks about saving gas but doesn't even mention the THOUSANDS of lives
that also would be saved.!! !!
http://www.morningjournal.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19831184&BRD=1699&PAG=
461&dept_id=46368&rfi=6
07/05/2008
With gasoline at $4 a gallon, Virginia Sen. John Warner, a Republican,
wants to take an updated look at an old gas-saving idea, a national speed
limit. Warner deserves a nod of appreciation for publicly reviving talk
about this strategy.
Three decades ago, in 1974, the Arab oil embargo led Congress to impose a
55 mph limit, and it saved 167,000 barrels of oil each day, which was 2
percent of nation's motoring fuel use, Warner noted.
Today, with far more vehicles on the roads, even more fuel savings might
be expected, and perhaps help bring down the price of gasoline as well,
he added in seeking a study of the matter by the Energy Department.
Warner wants to know what speeds provide the most fuel efficiency, an
estimate of how much fuel might be saved and the likelihood of a lower
speed limit showing up in terms of lower prices at the gasoline pump.
Warner noted that fuel efficiency plunges sharply when driving faster
than 60 mph. He cited the Energy Department's Web site estimating an
extra 30 cents per gallon in fuel costs for each 5 mph above 60 mph while
traveling, according to a news story by The Associated Press.
Cars today are far more fuel efficient than they were in 1974, but the
principle of saving fuel by limiting speeds remains sound.
Congress repealed the 55 mph national speed limit in 1995, when oil was
selling for $17 a barrel. Today, oil costs more than $140 a barrel.
It's time to take a new look at a lower national speed limit to reduce
our nation's dependence on foreign oil and put some downward pressure on
prices by driving more slowly, using less gasoline and thus reducing
demand for oil.
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