News-Record.com

A couple of members of Congress want us to once again drive 55, or maybe 60, on the nation's interstates in order to conserve fuel.

Veteran Virginia Sen. John Warner has said that he'll introduce legislation to reduce the speed limit once the Energy Department determines the most efficient speed to drive. Freshman Rep. Jackie Speier from California already has put in a bill. It would lower the speed to 60 mph in urban areas and 65 mph in rural ones.

There's no doubt that a lower speed limit would help America conserve fuel. Studies show most vehicles run less efficiently at speeds over 60.

It's estimated that Americans saved some 167,000 gallons of gas a day when the interstate speed limit was 55. We'd save even more now, because more vehicles are on the road.

But do we need Congress to mandate this? Drivers already can drive 55. All it takes is for them to lighten up on the accelerator pedal.

What we do need Congress to do is to work with the president in shaping an energy policy that aggressively encourages development of alternate forms of energy and transportation, ones not dependent on oil. A protracted debate over a lower speed limit - and that's what would happen if the drive 55 idea gains traction - would divert our nation's leaders from this vital task.

There may come a time when slower interstate speeds need to be ordered. If, for example, terrorism or a Mideast crisis seriously disrupted oil supplies, conservation would become essential, as we likely would have to rely on the limited fuel in the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve. But that's not the case now. Gas is expensive, but it's flowing freely.

Ordering vehicles to slow down on interstates wouldn't help America become more energy independent. It wouldn't change the fact that most U.S. vehicles are still being run on an imported and finite - and therefore vulnerable - energy source.

Driving 55 would reduce most people's gas bills. But drivers don't need an act of Congress to make that happen.