Senator Warner should attempt to get the senate focused of forcing more research in finding alternative fuel sources so we can get away from oil for our transportation needs. The speed limit alone will not save as much as getting away from oil will help us in the long run.

Gordon it has been known for decades that lower driving speeds increases gas mileage. I've been told by my mechanic that most four and six cylinder cars get their best mileage at speeds between 50 and 60 MPH. I've noticed that slowing down to 60 has increased my mileage considerably. That, and cutting down on the rabbit starts and stops, keeping the vehicle tuned up, cutting down on the external clutter of the car also helps. For that matter, check your owners manual too. You might be surprised. You really didn't think you were getting all that extra speed at no cost did you?
A national speed limit won't work: people are too used to going 65 to 80 MPH. If the people want to save money and fuel, they will do it. Other than that, a national speed limit of 55 will only increase the coffers of the states and thats about it.

Let each American drive according to his or her own wallet. The airlines are about to mothball 10% of their fleet by the end of this year anyway.

Where has it been proven that a lower speed results in more milage. Modern cars with moder computers and aerodynamics change the equation. "Driving 55 saves gas" is just an old wives tale. Prove it.

We don't need to change the laws. Drivers could save money and oil if the police would just enforce the speed limits already on the books. For the first few weeks - I hope it wouldn't take months to learn to drive sanely! - the police coffers might even get a bit of a boost. Maybe some of that money could even be used for road improvement. (I'm dreaming, I know)

On a recent 23 hour trip, I played with speed and mileage. There was a noticeable difference between 63 and 68, and an even bigger difference between 65 and 75. Oh, I was driving a Prius, not an SUV.

Re-imposing the speed limit to ease oil consumption would be like giving someone a band-aid to treat a bullet wound. It's a nice effort, but won't have any real effect. In theory it could save about 150,000 barrels a day. That sound nice, until you remember that Saudi Arabia just increased production by 200,000 barrels a day, and the price of oil has only gone up since then. Lowering the speed limits would give money to the state (revenue from all those speeding tickets) and the insurance companies (higher rates thanks to the speeding tickets).

What a dumb idea. People break the speed limit every day now, and a ticket doesn't deter them, what makes you think lowering the speed limit will? That will only create double digit speeders...but then again, that will double the states income on speeders , now wouldn't it? Use the money from all these tickets this is going to create to fix the roads if it becomes law.

Check Warner's "contributors" for auto insurance companies. The #1 proponent of the "old" 55 mph speed limit was auto insurance companies. In the name of "safety" , of course. The reality was that they WANTED people with violation free driving records to accumulate a ticket or 2...so they could push up your rates..don't fall for this nonsense again...

You have to realize, the amount of oil we use is not the only thing that changes the price. The rest of the world would have to cut back their oil usage in order for the price to drop because of that. The rest of the world will continue to use more and more oil and the price will continue to rise.