by James Kanata

Created on: June 23, 2010

During the era of the last federally imposed 55mph speed limit there was a public information campaign on the subject. "Don't Be Fuelish!" was its breathless decree. Who can argue with such a clumsy and awkward pun? Perhaps the irony of the situation was the 'fuelishness' was on the part of the federal government as their edifice of a nationally enforced 55mph speed limit crumbled in little over a decade, and all federally enforced limits removed completely in 1995. It might be tempting, when looking at the reintroduction of the 55mph speed limit, to take the arguments used at the time and regurgitate them anew. Yet the repeal of the federal limit was for good reasons, which will be explored below.

History has a lot to tell us about the last national speed limit. Catchingly known as the "Emergency Highway Energy Conservation Act" and introduced in 1974 it essentially coerced states into enforcing President Nixon's dream of a universal 55mph speed limit by withdrawing federal highway funding unless individual states complied. It's interesting to note the context in which this legislation came to pass. The early 1970's were beset by high energy prices, economic downturn and fears over American energy independence. Eerily familiar, is it not? The arguments used back in the time of the previous 55mph speed limit might seem to be exactly what we need, but as is so often the case the reality of the situation was entirely different.

There were two main pillars on which the 55mph limit was supported. The first was safety, taking the idea that with lower speeds less roadside fatalities would result. The second was a big increase fuel efficiency, the argument being that 55mph resulted in higher fuel economy for cars. Both arguments have failed to withstand close scrutiny. In the first instance, the belief that cars offered by far the best fuel efficiency at 50-55mph was questioned by the Heritage Foundation, that in 1986 stated that even the government's own figures suggested fuel savings of a mere 1%, with other studies suggesting half that[1]. Hardly an improvement in the cost of travel for the average motorist. The second main argument of an improvement in safety was equally flawed. Initially, studies suggested a drop in fatalities, but these evened out back to a pre 1974 average towards the end of the decade, suggesting an aberration rather than the result of the national speed limit law[2]. Of course, modern motor vehicles are built to much higher safety specifications

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>