Should the Federal 55 Miles Per Hour Speed Limit be Restored?

The national speed limit of 55 miles per hour was a bad idea when it was first introduced.  It is still a bad idea.  While there was some drop in the number of traffic fatalities each year, it was not enough to prove that it was a safer speed.  In fact, after the limits were allowed to return to 65 or 70 miles per hour in most states, the death rate did not escalate appreciably.  The same is true for the gasoline savings.

It sounded good when the lower speed limit was proposed.  However, after a few years, traffic speeds on the interstates began to creep back to the old higher limits.  The 55 miles per hour speed limit was an experiment.  It was a lot like prohibition.  A few people with good motives and an idea were able sufficiently sway public and legislative opinion to get the law passed.  The drivers of the this nation realized that 55 mile per hour on a long car trip was quite abit like torture.

As a result, drivers began to resist the new speed limit in large numbers.  The volume of drivers who ignored the lower limit and drove above 65 miles per hour was great.   Enough cars were breaking the limit that most law enforcement agencies all but quit writing tickets unless the driver was going beyond 70 miles per hour. 

For several states, even the loss of federal highway funding was not enough incentive to keep the lower limits in force.  These states simply put the limits back to where they were previously and lived without the additional federal funds.  There was little that Washington could do since speed limits are not granted to the federal government by the constitution.  The constitution does say that all powers not expressly granted to the federal government are reserved to the states.  Money is the only option that Washington has to try to force compliance.

Without public or state support, it soon became obvious that this was a bad idea that deserved to die a natural death.  National politicians desiring to be re-elected for years to come saw the need to get rid of this speed limit.  Very few drivers complained and even fewer elect to keep driving slow to prove how great 55 miles per hour really is.

With safer cars now being built with more fuel efficient engines, there is just no compelling reason to even consider a 55 miles per hour speed limit.  It needs to be left to each state to set the driving speed limits at the point where safety and public opinion can meet.  For most highways in most states, this is either 65 or 70 miles per hour.  Some highways have been raised to 75 miles per hour or more.