(Xinhua) -- U.S. Republican Jackie Speier, in her first bill as a member of Congress, is proposing a national speed limit to save gas, it was reported on Friday. Speier sets the limit of 60 mph for freeways in urban areas and65 mph in less populated areas as a way to address rising gas prices, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. With the average price of gas at 4.10 U.S. dollars per gallon nationwide and 4.60 dollars in San Francisco, reducing driving speeds could save families hundreds of dollars a year, Speier said. "There is no need to wait for OPEC or the oil companies to help us out," Speier said. "Every driver can effect change simply by easing up on their right foot."
The bill is already stirring objections from some motorist groups, which fear it would slow traffic and increase speeding tickets and insurance premiums, the paper said.
Opponents said the law isn't necessary because drivers already have the choice of reducing their speed to save gas. "If they want to get in the right-hand lane and drive 55 mph on the highway, there is no restriction on that," said Jim Baxter, president of the National Motorists Association, a group formed in1982 to repeal national speed limits. "They are welcome to do that."
