December 8th is the 10th Anniversary of the Repeal of the 55 National
Maximum Speed Limit. Please take the time to pass the below press
release on to your local media and remind them of this very important
date.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact: Eric Skrum, Communications Director, National Motorists
Association
Telephone: (608) 849-6000
Email: nma@motorists.org
Web address: www.motorists.org
10th Anniversary of the Repeal of the NMSL
Madison, Wisconsin, December 6, 2005 — Motorists across the nation
can celebrate the Tenth Anniversary of the repeal of the National
Maximum Speed Limit (NMSL) by driving at safe, legal speeds well
above 55 mph. National legislation repealing the decades-old NMSL was
signed into law on December 8, 1995.
The NMSL, a product of the Nixon administration, was implemented in
response to the OPEC oil embargo. After the embargo was lifted, a
coalition of groups appeared in support of the lower limit as a "life-
saving measure." It was because of such arguments that Congress
passed legislation making the 55-mph National Maximum Speed Limit
permanent in 1975.
The Citizens Coalition for Rational Traffic Laws (CCRTL), which later
became the National Motorists Association (NMA), was founded seven
years later for the express purpose of repealing the NMSL. As public
compliance shrank, Congressional supporters of the NMSL authorized a
National Academy of Science study to document the benefits of the
national limit. This study =adically altered the dynamics of the
public's discussion of the limit.
The NMA demanded that costs, as well as benefits, be part of any
evaluation of this law. The debate was dragged into the public and
political arenas and the support and rationalizations for the 55-mph
NMSL started to show serious flaws. Claims of lives saved were proven
largely invalid. The fact that non-compliance was much greater than
the government was admitting also came to light. Public opinion began
to shift, and it became socially and politically acceptable to at
least talk about higher speed limits.
During this discourse, the NMA became the clear primary opponent of
the NMSL. Our organization encouraged sympathetic members of Congress
to help us undo the damage of 55-mph limit. Ultimately, in 1987,
despite predictions of thousands of additional highway fatalities,
Congress decided to allow states to raise Interstate and expressway
speed limits to 65 mph.
By the early 1990s, these doom and gloom scenarios were proven false.
All but a few states had opted to raise their speed limits, while
fatality rates declined nationwide. Following this limited victory,
the NMA continued to push for a full repeal of the NMSL. Through a
little serendipity and a lot of hard work, Congress passed and
President Clinton signed legislation that included a provision
repealing the NMSL in its entirety.
Again, opponents of the repeal claimed that without a national speed
limit fatalities would increase by over 6,000 victims in the first
year alone. Instead, many states raised limits to 70 or 75 mph,
expanded 65-mph speed limits to other roads, and the number of
fatalities actually declined. During the past ten years since that
time, the fatality rate has continued to decline, despite higher
speed limits and higher driving speeds. This clearly demonstrated
that the 22-year-long experiment with an arbitrary national speed
limit served no positive purpose. It wasted time, resources, and
billions of dollars while neither reducing fuel consumption nor
improving highway safety.
The National Motorists Association was established in 1982 to
represent the interests and rights of North American motorists. It is
a grassroots organization that operates at the national level and
through a system of state chapters. It continues to advocate safe and
reasonable speed limits set in accordance with traffic engineering
standards, not arbitrary political whim. The NMA is entirely
supported through the contributions of individuals, families, and
small businesses.
Celebrating 20 years of protecting your rights!
National Motorists Association 608/849-6000
nma@motorists.org www.motorists.org
Advocating, Protecting, and Representing the Rights of North American
Motorists
Maximum Speed Limit. Please take the time to pass the below press
release on to your local media and remind them of this very important
date.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact: Eric Skrum, Communications Director, National Motorists
Association
Telephone: (608) 849-6000
Email: nma@motorists.org
Web address: www.motorists.org
10th Anniversary of the Repeal of the NMSL
Madison, Wisconsin, December 6, 2005 — Motorists across the nation
can celebrate the Tenth Anniversary of the repeal of the National
Maximum Speed Limit (NMSL) by driving at safe, legal speeds well
above 55 mph. National legislation repealing the decades-old NMSL was
signed into law on December 8, 1995.
The NMSL, a product of the Nixon administration, was implemented in
response to the OPEC oil embargo. After the embargo was lifted, a
coalition of groups appeared in support of the lower limit as a "life-
saving measure." It was because of such arguments that Congress
passed legislation making the 55-mph National Maximum Speed Limit
permanent in 1975.
The Citizens Coalition for Rational Traffic Laws (CCRTL), which later
became the National Motorists Association (NMA), was founded seven
years later for the express purpose of repealing the NMSL. As public
compliance shrank, Congressional supporters of the NMSL authorized a
National Academy of Science study to document the benefits of the
national limit. This study =adically altered the dynamics of the
public's discussion of the limit.
The NMA demanded that costs, as well as benefits, be part of any
evaluation of this law. The debate was dragged into the public and
political arenas and the support and rationalizations for the 55-mph
NMSL started to show serious flaws. Claims of lives saved were proven
largely invalid. The fact that non-compliance was much greater than
the government was admitting also came to light. Public opinion began
to shift, and it became socially and politically acceptable to at
least talk about higher speed limits.
During this discourse, the NMA became the clear primary opponent of
the NMSL. Our organization encouraged sympathetic members of Congress
to help us undo the damage of 55-mph limit. Ultimately, in 1987,
despite predictions of thousands of additional highway fatalities,
Congress decided to allow states to raise Interstate and expressway
speed limits to 65 mph.
By the early 1990s, these doom and gloom scenarios were proven false.
All but a few states had opted to raise their speed limits, while
fatality rates declined nationwide. Following this limited victory,
the NMA continued to push for a full repeal of the NMSL. Through a
little serendipity and a lot of hard work, Congress passed and
President Clinton signed legislation that included a provision
repealing the NMSL in its entirety.
Again, opponents of the repeal claimed that without a national speed
limit fatalities would increase by over 6,000 victims in the first
year alone. Instead, many states raised limits to 70 or 75 mph,
expanded 65-mph speed limits to other roads, and the number of
fatalities actually declined. During the past ten years since that
time, the fatality rate has continued to decline, despite higher
speed limits and higher driving speeds. This clearly demonstrated
that the 22-year-long experiment with an arbitrary national speed
limit served no positive purpose. It wasted time, resources, and
billions of dollars while neither reducing fuel consumption nor
improving highway safety.
The National Motorists Association was established in 1982 to
represent the interests and rights of North American motorists. It is
a grassroots organization that operates at the national level and
through a system of state chapters. It continues to advocate safe and
reasonable speed limits set in accordance with traffic engineering
standards, not arbitrary political whim. The NMA is entirely
supported through the contributions of individuals, families, and
small businesses.
Celebrating 20 years of protecting your rights!
National Motorists Association 608/849-6000
nma@motorists.org www.motorists.org
Advocating, Protecting, and Representing the Rights of North American
Motorists
