On This Date

On January 2, 1974, President Richard M. Nixon signed a bill lowering the maximum US speed limit to 55 mph. The primary purpose of the move was to conserve gasoline during the OAPEC oil embargo by an estimated 2.2 percent. However, because many motorists ignored the law, and many states did not strictly enforce the speed limit, the real gasoline savings were closer to 1 percent. Nevertheless, the limit had side-benefits as well, including reduced traffic fatalities and pollution emissions. The federal maximum speed limit was lifted in 1995, during the Clinton Administration, in response to pressure from states and the transportation industry, after the price of gasoline had fallen (in real terms).