National Maximum Speed Law
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
was a provision of the 1974 Emergency Highway Energy Conservation Act that prohibited speed limit
Speed limit
Road speed limits are used in most countries to regulate the speed of road vehicles. Speed limits may define maximum , minimum or no speed limit and are normally indicated using a traffic sign...
s higher than 55 miles per hour (24.6 m/s). It was drafted in response to oil price spikes and supply disruptions during the 1973 oil crisis
1973 oil crisis
The 1973 oil crisis started in October 1973, when the members of Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries or the OAPEC proclaimed an oil embargo. This was "in response to the U.S. decision to re-supply the Israeli military" during the Yom Kippur war. It lasted until March 1974. With the...
. While gasoline consumption was expected to fall by 2.2%, the United States Department of Transportation
United States Department of Transportation
The United States Department of Transportation is a federal Cabinet department of the United States government concerned with transportation. It was established by an act of Congress on October 15, 1966, and began operation on April 1, 1967...
calculated actual savings at 1%. The law was widely disregarded by motorists and most states subversively opposed the law. Actions ranged from proposing deals for exemption to minimizing speed limit enforcement
Speed limit enforcement
Speed limit enforcement is the action taken by appropriately empowered authorities to check that road vehicles are complying with the speed limit in force on roads and highways. Methods used include roadside speed traps set up and operated by the police and automated roadside 'speed camera'...
. The NMSL was modified in 1987 and 1988 to allow up to 65 mph (29.1 m/s) limits on certain roads. Congress repealed the NMSL in 1995, fully restoring authority to determine the maximum speed limits for each state
Speed limits in the United States
Speed limits in the United States are set by each state or territory. Speed limits in the United States vary according to many factors, including each state or territory's laws, the type of road, land use, and more. Increments of five miles per hour are used. Additionally, these limits sometimes...
to the states.
The law's safety benefit is disputed, with some researchers finding no benefit and others finding a benefit.
History
Historically, the power to set speed limits belonged to the states. Immediately before the National Maximum Speed Law became effective, speed limits were as high as 75 mph (33.5 m/s). (Kansas had lowered its turnpike speed limit from 80 before 1974.) Montana and Nevada generally posted no numeric speed limit on rural roads.1973—55 mph National Speed Limit
As of November 20, 1973, several states had modified speed limits:: Rhode Island, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Vermont, and Washington: North Carolina and Oregon- California lowered some 70 mph (31.3 m/s) limits to 65 mph (29.1 m/s).
- In late November 1973, Texas Governor Dolph BriscoeDolph BriscoeDolph Briscoe, Jr. was a Uvalde, Texas rancher and businessman who was the 41st Governor of Texas between 1973 and 1979....
recommended adoption of a 55 mph (24.6 m/s) statewide limit. On December 4, the Texas Highway Commission, with a 3-0 vote, adopted this 55 mph (24.6 m/s) speed limit, citing unsafe speed differentials between the flow of traffic and people driving too slowly to comply with President Nixon's and Governor Briscoe's requests for voluntary slowdowns. The legality of the measure was questioned, and two Texas legislators threatened to sue to block the limit. However, by December 6, Texas Attorney General John Hill ruled that the speed reduction "'was in excess' of the commissioners' legal power," citing that a 1943 Texas Attorney General's opinion held that the legislature holds the power to set the statewide speed limit and the Commission's authority was limited to changing it in specific locales where safety factors required lower limits.
As an emergency response to the 1973 oil crisis
1973 oil crisis
The 1973 oil crisis started in October 1973, when the members of Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries or the OAPEC proclaimed an oil embargo. This was "in response to the U.S. decision to re-supply the Israeli military" during the Yom Kippur war. It lasted until March 1974. With the...
, on November 26, 1973, President Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
proposed a national 50 mph (22.4 m/s) speed limit for passenger vehicles and a 55 mph speed limit for trucks and buses. That, combined with a ban on ornamental lighting, no gasoline sales on Sunday, and a 15% cut in gasoline production, were proposed to reduce total gas consumption by 200,000 barrels a day, representing a 2.2% drop from annualized 1973 gasoline consumption levels. Nixon partly based this on a belief that cars achieve maximum efficiency between 40 and 50 mph (64.4 and 80.5 km/h) and that trucks and buses were most efficient at 55 mph (24.6 m/s).
The California Trucking Association, the then-largest trucking association in the United States, opposed differential speed limits on grounds that they are "not wise from a safety standpoint."
Enactment
The Emergency Highway Energy Conservation Act was a bill in the U.S. Congress that enacted the National Maximum Speed Law. States had to agree to the limit if they desired to receive federal funding for highway repair. The uniform speed limit was signed into law by President Nixon on January 2, 1974, and became effective 60 days later, by requiring the limit as a condition of each state receiving highway funds, a use of the Commerce ClauseCommerce Clause
The Commerce Clause is an enumerated power listed in the United States Constitution . The clause states that the United States Congress shall have power "To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes." Courts and commentators have tended to...
of the United States Constitution
United States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...
.
The legislation required 55 mph (24.6 m/s) speed limits on all four-lane divided highways unless the road had a lower limit before November 1, 1973. In some cases, like the New York Thruway, the 50 mph (22.4 m/s) speed limit had to be raised to comply with the law. The law capped speed limits at 55 mph (24.6 m/s) on all other roads.
A survey by the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
found that, as of the Wednesday, January 2, 1974:
- 12 states already had maximum speed limits of 55 mph (24.6 m/s).
- Nine states had maximum speed limits of 50 mph (22.4 m/s).
- 29 states had to lower limits.
This includes some states that voluntarily lowered their limits in advance of the federal requirement.
On May 12, 1974, the United States Senate defeated a proposal by Senator Robert Dole to raise the speed limit to 60 mph (26.8 m/s).
Safety impact
The limit's effect on highway safety is unclear. During the time the law was enacted and after it was repealed automobile fatalities decreased, and this was widely attributed mainly to automobile safety improvements, owing to an increase in the safety of cars themselves. This secular decrease in fatalities from automobile accidents makes figuring out the actual impact of the law difficult.According to the National Academies of Science, when the law took effect there was a decrease in fatalities of about 4000 lives after the law took effect. Later, the National Academies wrote that that is, "a strong link between vehicle speed and crash severity [which] supports the need for setting maximum limits on high-speed roads," but that, "the available data do not provide an adequate basis for precisely quantifying the effects that changes in speed limits have on driving speeds, safety, and travel time on different kinds of roads." They also note that on rural interstates, the free flowing traffic speed should be the major determinant of the speed limit because, "Drivers typically can anticipate appropriate driving speeds." This is due, in part, to the strong access control in these areas but also is an acknowledgement of the difficulty of enforcing speed laws in these areas.
A Cato Institute
Cato Institute
The Cato Institute is a libertarian think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1977 by Edward H. Crane, who remains president and CEO, and Charles Koch, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of the conglomerate Koch Industries, Inc., the largest privately held...
report showed that the safety record worsened in the first few months of the new speed limits, suggesting that the fatality drop found by the NRC was a statistical anomaly that regressed to the mean
Regression toward the mean
In statistics, regression toward the mean is the phenomenon that if a variable is extreme on its first measurement, it will tend to be closer to the average on a second measurement, and—a fact that may superficially seem paradoxical—if it is extreme on a second measurement, will tend...
by 1978. After the oil crisis abated, the NMSL was retained mainly due to the possible safety aspect.
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety is a U.S. non-profit organization funded by auto insurers, established in 1959 and headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. It works to reduce the number of motor vehicle crashes, and the rate of injuries and amount of property damage in the crashes that...
workers wrote three papers that argue that increase from 55 to 65 mph (88.5 to 104.6 km/h) on rural roads led to a 25% to 30% increase in deaths (1/3 from increased travel, 2/3 from increased speed) while the full repeal in 1995 led to a further 15% increase to fatalities. In contrasting work, researchers at University of California Transportation Science Center argue that the interstates in question are only part of the equation, one also must account for traffic moving off the relatively more dangerous country roads and onto the relatively safer interstates. Accounting for this they find that raising rural speed limits to 65 mph (29.1 m/s) caused a 3.4% to 5.1% decrease in fatalities.
Fuel savings
In 1986, the Heritage FoundationHeritage Foundation
The Heritage Foundation is a conservative American think tank based in Washington, D.C. Heritage's stated mission is to "formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong...
, a conservative think tank, reported that the United States Department of Transportation
United States Department of Transportation
The United States Department of Transportation is a federal Cabinet department of the United States government concerned with transportation. It was established by an act of Congress on October 15, 1966, and began operation on April 1, 1967...
's Office of Driver Research found total fuel savings to be 1% and that "independent studies" found a 0.5% savings.
Opposition and noncompliance
The NMSL was wildly unpopular. To wit:- The speed limit had very low compliance, contrary to one practice that says that the speed limit should criminalize only the fastest 15% of drivers:
- From April through June 1982, speed was monitored on New York's Interstate highways, and an 83% noncompliance rate was found, despite extreme penalties ranging from $100 (1982 dollars, equal to $ today) or 30 days jail on a first offense to $500 (1982 dollars, equal to $ today), up to 180 days in jail, and a six-month driver's license revocation upon third conviction in 18 months.
- In the 4th quarter of 1988, 85% of drivers violated the 55 mph (24.6 m/s) speed limits on Connecticut rural interstates.
- In 1985, the Texas's State Department of Highways and Public Transportation surveyed motorist speeds at 101 locations on six types of urban and rural roads. It found that 82.2% of motorists violated the speed limit on rural interstates, 67.2% violated speed limits on urban interstates, and 61.6% violated speed limits on all roads.
- Various states enacted legal measures to tiptoe around the 55 mph limit:
- Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, and Utah replaced traditional speeding fines with $5–$15 energy wasting fines as long as drivers did not exceed the speed limit in effect before the 55 mph federal requirement.
- Nevada's energy wasting fine was enacted on April 15, 1981, when signed by Governor Robert ListRobert ListRobert Frank "Bob" List is an American politician. He served as the 24th Governor of Nevada from 1979 to 1983. He was raised in Exeter, California. He served as the Carson City District Attorney and the Nevada Attorney General before becoming Governor. Currently List practices law in Las Vegas...
. Motorists not exceeding 70 mph (31.3 m/s) in 55 mph (24.6 m/s) zones could be issued $5 "energy wasting" fines. However, standard speeding tickets were still allowed and "troopers were directed not to take the new law as a signal to stop writing tickets".
- Nevada's energy wasting fine was enacted on April 15, 1981, when signed by Governor Robert List
- In 1986, North Dakota's fine for speeding up to 15 mph (6.7 m/s) over the limit was only $15 and had no license points.
- South Dakota cut speeding fines in 1985 and stopped assessing points for being 10 mph (4.5 m/s) or less above the speed limit in 1986.
- August 1, 1986, Minnesota, which normally suspended licenses after three tickets, stopped counting speeding tickets for no more than 65 mph (29.1 m/s).
- Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, and Utah replaced traditional speeding fines with $5–$15 energy wasting fines as long as drivers did not exceed the speed limit in effect before the 55 mph federal requirement.
- In 1981, 33 state legislatures debated measures to oppose the NMSL.
- Some law enforcement officials openly questioned the speed limit. In 1986, Jerry Baum, director of the South Dakota Highway Patrol, said "Why must I have a trooper stationed on an interstate, at 10 in the morning, worried about a guy driving 60 mph on a system designed to be traveled at 70? He could be out on a Friday night watching for drunken drivers."
- Even organizations supporting the NMSL, such as the American Automobile AssociationAmerican Automobile AssociationAAA , formerly known as the American Automobile Association, is a federation of 51 independently operated motor clubs throughout North America. AAA is a not-for-profit member service organization with more than 51 million members. AAA provides services to its members such as travel, automotive,...
(AAA) provided lists of locations where the limit was strictly enforced. - On June 1, 1986, NevadaNevadaNevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
ignored the NMSL by posting a 70 mph (31.3 m/s) limit on 3 miles (5 km) of Interstate 80Interstate 80 in NevadaIn the U.S. state of Nevada, Interstate 80 traverses the northern portion of the state. The freeway serves the Reno-Sparks metropolitan area, and also goes through the towns of Fernley, Lovelock, Winnemucca, Battle Mountain, Elko, Wells and West Wendover on its way through the state.I-80 follows...
. The Nevada statute authorizing this speed limit included language that invalidated itself if the federal government suspended transportation funding. Indeed, the Federal Highway AdministrationFederal Highway AdministrationThe Federal Highway Administration is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two "programs," the Federal-aid Highway Program and the Federal Lands Highway Program...
immediately withheld highway funding, which automatically invalidated the statute by its own terms.
1987 and 1988—65 mph limit
In the April 2, 1987, Surface Transportation and Uniform Relocation Assistance ActSurface Transportation and Uniform Relocation Assistance Act
The Surface Transportation and Uniform Relocation Assistance Act of 1987 is a United States Act of Congress, also called the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1987. It nominally gave power to apportion money to the Secretary of Transportation...
, Congress permitted states to raise speed limits to 65 mph (29.1 m/s) on rural Interstate highways. In a bill that passed in mid-December 1987, Congress allowed certain non-Interstate rural roads built to Interstate standards to have the higher speed limits. As of December 29, 1987, the states of California, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky and Oklahoma had applied for and been accepted into this program. The program was originally slated to last four years.
Reclassified roads
A few roads that weren't Interstate Highways but were built to Interstate standards were redesignated as Interstate Highways to qualify for the increased speed limit:- Kansas petitioned the Federal Highway Administration on May 14, 1987, to "designate the turnpike as an Interstate Highway between Topeka and Emporia". This Kansas TurnpikeKansas TurnpikeThe Kansas Turnpike is a freeway-standard toll road that lies entirely within the U.S. state of Kansas. It runs in a general southwest-northeast direction from the Oklahoma border, and passes through several major Kansas cities, including Wichita, Topeka, Lawrence and Kansas City...
segment had existed since 1956 without a numerical designation. Interstate status was granted, Interstate 335 was designated, and the 65 mph speed limit signs went up. - Western Interstate 88Interstate 88 (west)Interstate 88 is an intrastate Interstate Highway in the state of Illinois. It runs from an interchange with Interstate 80 near Silvis and Moline to an interchange with Interstates 290 and 294 in Hillside, near Chicago...
in Illinois had previously been designated as Illinois Route 5Illinois Route 5Illinois Route 5 is a four-lane road that runs from U.S. Route 67 in Rock Island to the interchange of Interstate 80 and the toll-free portion of Interstate 88, a distance of...
. of the Maine Turnpike between Portland and West Gardiner were designated as Interstate 495Interstate 495 (Maine)Interstate 495 is the unsigned designation for the Falmouth Spur, a short freeway connecting Interstate 95 with Interstate 295 and U.S. Route 1 north of Portland, Maine, United States. As part of the Maine Turnpike, the main line of which carries Interstate 95, I-495 is a toll road. The spur has...
in 1988. The designation for this segment was changed in 2004 to Interstate 95Interstate 95 in MaineIn the U.S. state of Maine, Interstate 95 is a long highway running from the New Hampshire border near Kittery, to the Canadian border near Houlton. It is the only two-digit Interstate Highway in Maine...
to simplify the Interstate numbering scheme in Maine.
1995—Repeal of federal limits
Congress lifted all federal speed limit controls in the November 28, 1995, National Highway Designation Act, returning all speed limit determination authority to the states. Several states immediately reverted to already existing laws. For example, most TexasTexas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
rural limits that were above 55 mph (24.6 m/s) in 1974 immediately reverted to 70 mph (31.3 m/s), causing some legal confusion before the new signs were posted. Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
reverted to non-numerical speed limits on most rural highways, although its legislature adopted 75 mph (33.5 m/s) as a limit in 1999. Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
was the last state to raise its speed limit when, in response to public outcry after an experiment with traffic enforcement cameras in 2002, it raised the maximum speed limit on parts of Interstates H-1
Interstate H-1
Interstate H-1 is the busiest Interstate Highway in Hawaii, United States, located on the island of O‘ahu. Despite the number, this is an east–west highway—the 'H'-series numbering reflects the order in which routes were funded and built. H-1 goes from Route 93 in Kapolei to Route 72 in...
and H-3
Interstate H-3
Interstate H-3 is an intrastate Interstate Highway located on the island of O'ahu in the state of Hawai'i in the United States. H-3 is also known as the John A. Burns Freeway...
to 60 mph (26.8 m/s).
Despite repeal of federal speed limit controls, current maximum speed limits are on average lower than in 1974:
- States with same speed limit as pre-1974: 25Includes Texas where the same pre-1974 speed limits are applicable on the vast majority of rural roads despite some 75 and 80 mph limits.
- States with higher speed limit than pre-1974: 8
- States with lower speed limits than pre-1974: 17Includes Virginia where the vast majority of rural freeways have a 65 mph (29.1 m/s) limit.
85 mph speedometers
On September 1, 1979, in a regulation that also regulated speedometer and odometer accuracy, the National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is an agency of the Executive Branch of the U.S. government, part of the Department of Transportation...
(NHTSA) required speedometer
Speedometer
A speedometer is a gauge that measures and displays the instantaneous speed of a land vehicle. Now universally fitted to motor vehicles, they started to be available as options in the 1900s, and as standard equipment from about 1910 onwards. Speedometers for other vehicles have specific names...
s to have special emphasis on the number 55 and a maximum speed of 85 mph (38 m/s). However, on October 22, 1981, NHTSA proposed eliminating speedometer and odometer rules because they were "unlikely to yield significant safety benefits" and "[a] highlighted '55' on a speedometer scale adds little to the information provided to the driver by a roadside speed limit sign."
Popular culture
- Sammy HagarSammy HagarSam Roy "Sammy" Hagar , also known as The Red Rocker, is an American rock singer, guitarist, and songwriter. Also sings Country Music....
's hit single "I Can't Drive 55I Can't Drive 55"I Can't Drive 55" was the lead single and first track from Sammy Hagar's eighth studio album VOA in 1984. Perpetuated by a very successful music video, it became a concert staple that continued throughout Sammy's tours as a member of Van Halen....
". - The term "double nickel" came into widespread usage.
- A hand with a pair of fives in Texas hold'em pokerPokerPoker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings. Poker games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown , limits on bet sizes, and how many rounds of betting are allowed.In most modern poker...
is referred to as "Speed Limit".