THE OPPONENT'S VIEW: THE SPEED LAW IS A POLITICAL ILLUSION BASED ON MYTHS AND FALSE ASSUMPTIONS

In this article, James Baxter, head of the Citizens Coalition for Rational Traffic Laws in Dane, Wisconsin, presents his assessment of the 55 mph National Maximum Speed Limit (NMSL). It is his view that the 55 mph NMSL was originally justified and has been perpetuated through a collection of erroneous premises based on illogical assumptions, folklore, preconceived notions, and deliberate distortion of facts. He discusses several "myths" on which he feels the 55 mph NMSL is founded, and concludes with the question, "How can it be claimed we have a 55 mph maximum speed limit when 80 percent of the traffic on our better roads exceed that speed, and exceed it by margins substantially in excess of those claimed by "official" sources?"

• 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:
  • BAXTER, J
• Publication Date: 1985-7

Media Info

• Pagination: 3 p.
• 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; Energy consumption; Highway safety; Public opinion; Speed limits; Speeding
• Identifier Terms: National Maximum Speed Limit
• Subject Areas: Energy; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Society; I73: Traffic Control;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00453275
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• Report/Paper Numbers: HS-039 388
• Files: HSL, TRIS, USDOT
• Created Date: Feb 28 1986 12:00AM