Matteo and I are on the road a lot. We love to travel, so take to the open roads whenever the opportunity arises. He drives the majority of the time, but occasionally I find myself behind the wheel. Being on the open road is freedom, the tires slapping against the pavement, the radio blaring old country, or classic rock, no pressure, just pure freedom.
I tend to get lost in the experience, taking in the beauty and the sheer magnitude of that around us, I soak in the ambiance of travel, sweet travel. I look through the rear mirror and see nothing but nature. I look ahead and see no human life. I look out the side window and see a field of foals. Sweet baby horses just born scatter the fields. I glance down at the dashboard and notice the speedometer singing the sweet sound of seventy miles per hour, oops. I release the pressure of my foot on the petal. A foot that is pure lead when I’m behind the wheel, nothing can slow me down. It’s not even intentional. I just can’t drive 55.
Theres something so fundamental about it that got me wondering why 55? Why not 60 or 65? I could maybe do 65 🙂 So I did a little digging, and I give you the History of the speed limit! Enjoy and Watch that Speed! Much Love ~ 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝒶𝓂𝐢𝐞 シ
One of the first speed limits in what would become the United States (at the time, still a British colony) was set in Boston in 1701 by the board of selectmen (similar to a city council): It was ordered:
That no person whatsoever Shall at any time hereafter ride, drive, gallop or other extreme pace within any of the Streets, lanes, or alleys in this Town on penalty of forfeiting 3 Shillings for every such offence;
In response to the 1973 oil crisis, Congress enacted the National Maximum Speed Law that created the universal 55 miles per hour speed limit. States had to agree to the limit if they desired to receive federal funding for highway repair. The federal government enforced the national maximum speed limit by withholding federal funding for projects whose speed limits exceeded 55 miles per hour.
The law was widely disregarded by motorists, even after the national maximum was increased to 65 mph on certain roads in 1987 and 1988. In 1995, the law was repealed by the National Highway System Designation Act of 1995, returning the choice of speed limit to each state.
Upon that repeal, there was effectively no speed limit on Montana’s highways for daytime driving (the nighttime limit was set at 65 miles per hour) from 1995 until 1999, when the state Supreme Court threw out the law requiring a “reasonable and prudent” speed as “unconstitutionally vague.” The state legislature enacted a 75 miles per hour daytime limit in May 1999. Overall, the new speed limit law in Montana was found to be satisfactory to residents of the state.
In the United States, speed limits are set by each state or territory. States have also allowed counties and municipalities to enact typically lower limits. Highway speed limits can range from an urban low of 25 mph to a rural high of 85 mph. Some states have lower limits for trucks, some also have night and/or minimum speed limits.
Things of Interest:
- First instituted in 1901 to increase road safety and reduce traffic collisions.
- Initially, individual states were responsible for determining their own speed limit laws.
- The first federal speed limit law was passed in the 1970s in response to oil shortages.
- When a speed limit is deemed to be used to generate revenue, it is called a speed trap. The town of New Rome, Ohio was such a speed trap, where speeding tickets raised up to $400,000 per year to fund the police department of a 12-acre village with 60 residents.
- During World War II, the U.S. Office of Defense Transportation established a national 35 mph “Victory Speed Limit” (aka “War Speed”) to conserve gasoline & rubber for the American war effort (1942 – 1945).
- For 13 years (1974–1987), federal law withheld Federal highway trust funds to states that had speed limits above 55 mph.
- From April 1987 to December 8, 1995, an amended federal law allowed speed limits up to 65 mph on rural Interstate and rural roads built to Interstate highway standards.
- Sammy Hager said it best in his 1984 hit song
I can’t drive 55
