The Nation - News from Feb. 26, 1988

The Reagan Administration urged Congress to end financial sanctions against states that do not comply with the 55-m.p.h. national speed limit. Richard Morgan, executive director of the Federal Highway Administration, told a Senate transportation subcommittee that the Administration “would prefer giving all authority for setting speed limits back to states.” Congress last year voted to retain the national speed limit at 55 m.p.h. on all roads except rural interstate highways, where states were permitted to raise the limit to 65 m.p.h. Under the current law, states must monitor motorist compliance with the speed limit; if more than half of the motorists exceed the 55-m.p.h. limit in a given state, that state can lose up to 10% of its share of federal highway funds.