THE POLICE VIEW: THE RIGID INTERPRETATION OF COMPLIANCE SHOULD BE CHANGED TO FIT THE REAL WORLD

This article suggests some changes that could be made in the interpretation of compliance with regard to the 55 mph national speed limit. One possible change would be to leave the speed limit at 55 mph, but remove the sanctions presently defined and let the States enforce the law as they see fit. Only those States that raise the limit would be sanctioned. Another possible change would be to take into consideration the 5-mph leeway expected by the motoring public and measure compliance from 60 mph, while still keeping the adjustment for speedometer error. Finally, the compliance formula could be adjusted to reflect the weighting of the "safe" rural Interstates, where speed traditionally has been higher and harder to enforce due to a lower concentration of enforcement personnel. The bottom line is that some change is needed in the present National Speed Limit Law to achieve a workable definition of compliance and its measurement.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/00410721
• Corporate Authors:

  National Safety Council

  444 North Michigan Avenue
  Chicago, IL  United States  60611
• Authors:
  • Thompson, L
• Publication Date: 1985-7

Media Info

• Pagination: p. 14-15
• Serial:
  • Traffic Safety (Chicago)
  • Volume: 85
  • Issue Number: 4
  • Publisher: National Safety Council
  • ISSN: 0041-0721

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: 55 mph speed limit; Compliance; Law enforcement; Laws; Sanctions; Speed limits; States
• Identifier Terms: National Maximum Speed Limit
• Subject Areas: Highways; Law; Operations and Traffic Management; Security and Emergencies; I73: Traffic Control;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00453173
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• Report/Paper Numbers: HS-039 337
• Files: HSL, TRIS, USDOT
• Created Date: Feb 28 1986 12:00AM