Technically the 55mph limit wasn't a federal law; Rex is right that speed limits are set and enforced by each state. But in the '70s Congress (the Federal Congress) passed a law that Federal highway money would not be forthcoming to states that allowed their speed limits to exceed 55mph. Most states went along. The 55mph speed limit is long gone now; interstates I drive on east of the Mississippi river are mostly 65 and 70, except through dicey parts of cities where it can go as low as 55 or even 45. I saw a piece of I-10 in AZ that was 75, or maybe 80, but that's all I've seen myself.
I remember my driver's-ed teacher in high school telling us that in some western states the statutory speed limit used to be 120, and even that was enforced spottily. Before the 55 limit, in 1972 and at the mature age of 17, I hitchhiked across the country. (NC to CA; for Europeans, it's about 4100 km.) A guy who picked me up in Texas had just had a new engine put into his car, and he didn't want to go too fast until he'd broken in the engine a bit. But the roads in Texas are straight and flat; he kept creeping up over 100mph without realizing it. Then we'd hit a very slight curve, the car would make a slight noise as it pulled against friction toward the outside of the road, he'd glance down at the speedometer and slow down again. All very interesting to a boy who'd never gone that fast before. But of course in such flat land it didn't really seem that fast. --- Bob Bridges, robhbrid...@gmail.com, cell 336 382-7313 /* Wink at small faults; remember thou hast great ones. -Poor Richard */ -----Original Message----- From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List [mailto:IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU] On Behalf Of Tony Thigpen Sent: Tuesday, August 4, 2020 09:09 The 55 MPH limit was a federal law designed to force people to save fuel by driving slower during the 70's when the fuel crisis hit the US. And, we were stuck with for a long time even after the fuel crisis was over. Some studies showed that while it saved fuel for autos, it cost fuel for long-haul trucking. Just like the 18% interest rates of the 70's, we hope to never see a national 55MPH speed limit again. --- Pommier, Rex wrote on 8/4/20 9:01 AM: > Speed limits are different in the States based on which state you're in. > Each state can set its own speed limit. I am in South Dakota, and most > smaller 2 lane roads are 55 MPH. Many of the state 2 lane roads are 65, and > the interstates have an 80 MPH speed limit, the equivalent of about 130 KPH. > So the divided highways - at least in South Dakota - are reasonable. > > -----Original Message----- > From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List <IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU> On Behalf Of > R.S. > Sent: Tuesday, August 4, 2020 7:23 AM > > My opinion: I like american cars and roads. > However I don't understand common speed limit 55 mph which is in my opinion > too low for the road on desert. > > BTW: > Here in Poland default limit on highway is 140 km/h. > However in Germany default is ...your sanity. No speed limit. Most cars have > factory limit at 250 km/h, but not luxury ones. And yes, it is legal to drive > 300 km/h Of course this is for highways only. And speed limit signs may > reduce it. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN
