‘55-Limit Is Unenforceable’
The 55-speed limit is an impractical, unworkable, unpopular law that deserves to be repealed. Originally intended as a temporary emergency measure when it was passed more than a decade ago in response to the oil embargo and resultant fuel shortage, the “double nickel” has become the Prohibition of the ‘70s and ‘80s.
The increasingly widespread flouting of the speed limit attests to its rejection by the American people, yet the federal government is threatening to withhold millions of dollars in highway funds from states that don’t crack down on “speeders.” Is this sort of governmental blackmail appropriate for a democracy?
SCOT PENSLAR
Los Angeles
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