Step On It: Congress ups the speed limit

Congress ups the speed limit

The days of the "double nickel" -- as truckers call the widely scorned and narrowly enforced 55-m.p.h. speed limit -- appear to be numbered. First enacted in 1974 in response to the oil shortage, the 55-m.p.h. law was preserved long after the energy drought turned into a glut because the lower speed saves lives as well as fuel.

But last week Congress determined that it could no longer keep within the bounds of the snail-paced speed limit. By a narrow margin of 217 to 206, the House voted to allow state governments to increase the limit to 65 m.p.h. on most...

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