Ddaddy
I'm changing the World... one pixel at a time!
It was just a giant political show at the time. OMR is right that it was driven more by the insurance companies than fuel savings.
Pulled this from Wiki that sums it up pretty well...
The National Maximum Speed Law (NMSL) in the United States was a provision of the Federal 1974 Emergency Highway Energy Conservation Act that prohibited speed limits higher than 55 miles per hour (90 km/h). It was drafted in response to oil price spikes and supply disruptions during the 1973 oil crisis.
While Federal officials hoped gasoline consumption would fall by 2.2%, actual savings were estimated at between 0.5% and 1%. The reason for the low effectiveness was likely because:
A survey by the Associated Press found that as of January 2, 1974:
Pulled this from Wiki that sums it up pretty well...
The National Maximum Speed Law (NMSL) in the United States was a provision of the Federal 1974 Emergency Highway Energy Conservation Act that prohibited speed limits higher than 55 miles per hour (90 km/h). It was drafted in response to oil price spikes and supply disruptions during the 1973 oil crisis.
While Federal officials hoped gasoline consumption would fall by 2.2%, actual savings were estimated at between 0.5% and 1%. The reason for the low effectiveness was likely because:
A survey by the Associated Press found that as of January 2, 1974:
- 12 states already had maximum speed limits of 55 mph (90 km/h).
- 9 states had maximum speed limits of 50 mph (80 km/h).
- 29 states had lower limits.