Environment

US Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works U SBiblio.com

To Provide Compliance With The National Maximum Speed Limit; Hearing before the Subcommittee on Transportation of the Committee on Environment and Public Works United States Senate Ninety-sixth Congress Second Session on s. 1337 A Bill to Amend Title 23 of the United States Code to Provide Greater Compliance with the National Maximum Speed Limit June 3 1980

1980ref. 91170Washington DC: U.S. Government Printing Office 1980. Presumed First Edition First printing. Wraps. Good. iii 1 141 7 pages. Wraps. Illustrations. Tabular Data. Serial NO. 96-H50 Front cover and several early pages creased at lower front corner. The National Maximum Speed Law NMSL established in 1974 55 mph and modified in 1987/1988 65 mph was repealed in 1995 returning speed limit authority to states. The original law enforced compliance by withholding federal highway funds which was heavily debated with studies showing it saved 2000–4000 lives annually. Signed by President Nixon in 1974 Public Law 93-239 in response to the 1973 oil crisis to conserve fuel not primarily for safety. The federal government forced compliance by threatening to withhold federal-aid highway funding from states that did not adhere to the 55 mph limit. Congress passed the National Highway System Designation Act of 1995 signed by President Clinton on December 8 1995 which formally repealed the National Maximum Speed Limit returning control to states. Current debates often focus on "safety-conscious" planning rather than national caps with some current legislation such as the DRIVE Act aiming to prevent federal mandates for speed-limiting technology on commercial trucks. Historically Senate hearings and committees often focused on the balance between state autonomy fuel conservation and safety statistics e.g. studies on the 55 mph limit reducing fatalities. The 1974 National Maximum Speed Limit NMSL of 55 mph was enacted to conserve fuel during the oil embargo and reduce traffic fatalities. Congress forced state compliance by threatening to withhold federal highway funds. States monitored compliance using sensors and enforcement with the NMSL repealed in 1995. This law was enacted to conserve fuel and improve safety with the 55-mph limit estimated to have saved thousands of lives. The Emergency Highway Energy Conservation Act of 1974 mandated a 55 mph limit withholding federal-aid highway funds from states that did not comply. The Federal Highway Administration FHwA monitored compliance requiring states to submit data on speed enforcement. States used marked patrol cars near monitoring sensors to slow traffic and ensure reported speeds met federal requirements. The NMSL was repealed in 1995 returning authority to set speed limits to individual states. Compliance often met resistance particularly in Western states and enforcement was sometimes criticized as ineffective according to the Hoover Institution and The Heritage Foundation. U.S. Government Printing Office paperback

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