In Nevada, where the roads are mostly flat, straight and empty, drivers never did like to poke along. Nevada was the last state to comply with the federally imposed 55-m.p.h. limit in 1975, and last week it was the first to try officially to break it, upping the speed limit to 70 m.p.h. on a short stretch of I-80.
The state legislature hoped that coupling the higher speed limit with a mandatory seat-belt requirement would induce the feds to exempt Nevada from the 55-m.p.h. restriction. No such luck. When the Federal Highway Administration promptly announced a cutoff of road-building funds--including $66...
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