55: A DECADE OF EXPERIENCE

Under support from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the National Research Council assembled a committee of 19 individuals with expertise in the various disciplines needed to evaluate the benefits and costs of the 55 mph speed limit and to assess the effectiveness of state laws in inducing compliance. The findings and recommendations of the committee are presented in this report, along with the unresolved issues that surround the appropriate speed limit for selected roads. The committee findings on the consequences of the 55 mph speed limit relate to safety, energy, taxpayer costs, and travel time. Recent trends in motorist compliance and pressures for change are also discussed. Recommendations of the committee are that the 55 mph speed limit should be retained on almost all of the nation's highways and that the federal government should measure state compliance with the speed limit through a point system that attaches more significance to high-speed violations than to violations just above the speed limit.

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• Record URL:
  • https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/11373
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  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/0360859X
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Publication Date: 1984

Media Info

• Features: Appendices; Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 262 p.
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Board Special Report
  • Issue Number: 204
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0360-859X

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: 55 mph speed limit; Benefits; Compliance; Costs; Energy; Law enforcement; Measures of effectiveness; Recommendations; Speed limits; Traffic safety; Travel time
• Identifier Terms: National Maximum Speed Limit
• Uncontrolled Terms: Effectiveness
• Subject Areas: Energy; Finance; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Research; Safety and Human Factors; Security and Emergencies; I81: Accident Statistics;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00391356
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• Report/Paper Numbers: HS-038 162
• Files: HSL, TRIS, TRB, ATRI, USDOT
• Created Date: Dec 30 1984 12:00AM