With gas prices rising and uncertainty in the Mideast, should highway speed limits be lowered to 55 mph?

Jean Casey, 63, Windham

“I think it’s a good idea. It would conserve gasoline. It’s common sense, right? I just got rid of a Ford Explorer for a Toyota Avalon. I used to get 10 to 12 mpg, now I get 28.”

Hank Reeve, 66, Gray

“It’s ludicrous. People aren’t going to drive 55 mph when they’re used to 65 mph or more. Reducing the speed won’t help them save an appreciable amount of energy anyway. No one’s going to worry about saving a few cents worth of gas.”

Mark Wheeler, 45, Standish

“Since I drive for a living doing sales, I want to get to where I’m going in a quick and correct amount of time. I don’t think it needs to be 55 mph. It’s a free country and we can choose to keep our car maintained to get the right miles per gallon, or we can choose not to.”

Kristi Fecteau, 29, Gray

“People don’t obey the speed limits anyway so I don’t think even if they did lower it, it would do anything. People know if they go faster they’ll burn more gas. But it’s a matter of choice.”

Fred DuEst, 52, Windham

“I think that would be crazy. You’d spend more gas money waiting in traffic. They lowered the speed limit on Brighton Avenue in Portland and then it gets backed up and people waste gas idling in traffic. I think I get better gas mileage setting my cruise control at 70 mph. What they should do is make big trucks get better gas mileage.”

Dorothy Baker, 21, Standish

“I don’t think it’s a bad idea. But I think they’d have to enforce it better. It could be more dangerous because you’d have impatient people going very fast by a person going 55 mph. People are very impatient and want to get to where they’re going very fast.”