National Speed Limit - 55 mph

AJ · #1 07-14-08, 12:54 PM

I'm sure you guys have heard something about it. We had one in the past.

Quote:

The National Maximum Speed Law (in the United States) was a provision of the 1974 Emergency Highway Energy Conservation Act [1] that capped all speed limits at 55 mph (90 km/h). This cap was intended to conserve gasoline in response to the 1973 oil crisis. This law was modified twice in the late 1980s to allow 65 mph (105 km/h) limits. In 1995 it was repealed, returning the power of setting speed limits to the states.

National Maximum Speed Law - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It's supposed to save gas and save lives. Do you think it would be a good idea now?

Personally, I don't think it's a great idea. I haven't researched all the details, but in Florida we have a toll road called "Florida Turnpike" and the speed limit is mostly 70 mph on it. People tend to go between 80-90 mph, however. It's a fast way to get around Florida. I think it would be a pretty good idea to do this national speed limit if it did not include toll roads.

What's your take on it?

Ich_Bin_Butler · #2 07-14-08, 03:06 PM

Maybe it will save gas and stop accidents, but 55 MPH is a little ridiculous, don't you think? Maybe 60 MPH. And I hope it isn't too well enforced, either, because they aren't enforcing the current limits too closely now, and if they start cracking down to make sure people are late to wherever they're going, it would turn out to have been a bad idea in the first place.