Taking a page from the Nixon administration, the Spanish government has proposed lowering the national speed limit to 50 miles per hour on highways, down from 62mph, and from 31mph to 25mph in urban areas.
The Independent reports that the new limits are part of a larger plan to cut dependence on foreign oil by 10 percent that includes a mandated switch to high-efficiency lightbulbs and setting the air conditioning in public buildings in the typically warm nation to 79 degrees.
Lighting on city streets will also be cut by half, and public transportation increased to make up for what is expected to be a drop off in driving.
Evoking the words of another U.S. President, John F. Kennedy, Industry Minister, Miguel Sebastian, said it was time for Spaniards to "ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country."
A poll shows that motorists in this notoriously free-wheeling nation are against the plan.
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