Senator wants national speed limit

Sen. John Warner suggested Thursday that Congress reinstitute a national speed limit to save gas and possibly lower fuel prices.

Warner (R-Va.) has asked Energy Department Secretary Samuel Bodman to determine at which speeds vehicles would be most efficient.

In 1974, Congress set a national speed limit of 55 mph due to the shortages resulting from the Arab oil embargo. According to CNN.com, The speed limit was repealed in 1995 when crude oil dipped to $17 a barrel and gasoline cost $1.10 a gallon.

Gasoline now averages $4.10 a gallon nationwide, and oil is around $145 per barrel, CNN.com said.

Warner said two studies have shown that the 55 mph speed limit saved 167,000 barrels of oil per day - or 2 percent of the country's highway fuel consumption -and lowered the amount of traffic deaths.