12/04/2010

The National Maximum Speed Limit And the Long Term Aftereffects

I will be one of the first people to admit that I rarely do the speed limit on limited access highways like the Interstates. I know I'm not the only one otherwise I wouldn't be getting passed all the time when I'm on them. (I won't do over 65 in the trusty F150 because at the moment it needs a front end alignment and at that speed it shimmies a bit.)

The speed limits on most of the Interstates is still too low. Here in New Hampshire the speed limit was 70 MPH until the National Maximum Speed Limit (NMSL) was imposed upon the motoring public back in 1974. The speed limit is presently 65 and it's too low. I know of few motorists that travel that speed on I-89, I-93, or I-95. Most are doing 70 or even 75. That tells me the speed limit is too slow,. Apparently. The NMSL became one of the most ignored laws on the books since Prohibition because it artificially lowered the speed limits on highways designed for much higher speeds. It was changed in 1985 to allow speeds of 65 MPH and repealed in 1995. Yet the speeds are still too low on some highways. To illustrate this, here's a little video showing exactly that, by way of Say Uncle: