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| No | 67% | 222 votes | Total: 333 votes | |
| Yes | 33% | 111 votes |
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Add to FavoritesThe 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.
Learn more about this author, Allen Teal.
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Yes
Imagine this: You are driving in the center lane of a major four lane highway, you are cruising along at 55 miles an hour and then wham! the person in front of you is going 45 miles an hour! This would hurt, would it not? Well, this is probably not the greatest reason to revert back to 55 miles an hour, but it is one to review how people are driving on the highways and if there should be stricter rules than just driving in the far right lane if you want to go the speed limit or less.
For some time now, we as a nation have been hearing that the roads, the bridges and the major infrastructure of most major cities are in terrible disrepair and that this is going to be reversed by hiring more people to get this problem solved. In the meantime, while most roads are in bad shape and more and more pot holes as well as sink holes are appearing all over the country, it might just be necessary to revert back to 55 miles an hour on the highways. Not only are these reasons, the increase in teen driving deaths, more bus accidents that are not only injuring children but killing them as well, it is becoming more and more necessary to revert back to the 55 miles an hour national speed limit. There certainly are responsible drivers out on the roads as well, and they do like to ride a bit faster on the open road but what has to be considered here is whether or not, it is safer with one national speed limit.
The overall concern here is safety. Statistics are showing that accidents are up as the national speed limit increases. We have to remember that we are in the age where baby boomer's are getting older and as they (we) do get older, our reflexes may not be as sharp as they used to be. This means that as baby boomer's begin to slow down, driving teens seem to be increasing their speeds. Watch the nightly and even the morning news and check how many accidents are occurring between the young and the old. This is because the older drivers and the younger drivers are mixing it up and this spells disaster.
What might actuallly be necessary more than the far left lane where most drivers go faster, is to create a highway system in most major cities where there is an outer lane which is used for 55 miles an hour or higher. This would eliminate this question.
Overall, let us get back to the national speed limit of 55 so that lives can be saved and so that our cars can be saved as well. The other reason to probably revert to 55 miles per hour is to bring the trucking industry back to a comfortable safe speed as well.
Learn more about this author, David Brown.
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