2 Oct
2000
2 Oct
'00
12:24 p.m.
John wrote:
I believe I saw 75MPH in rural Kansas just two years
ago.
Gary wrote:
That was on the Turnpike. It is essentially a private
highway, so it has
always been exempt from Federal speed limits.
Not so. While the Federal government has never had the authority to
set state or local speed limits, they blackmailed the states by
threatening to withhold federal highway funds if the states set speed
limits higher than those approved by Congress, originally 55 MPH imposed
in 1973, later lifted to 65 MPH (with some restrictions) around 1986.
At least part of the Kansas Turnpike is a Federal Interstate highway
(I-70), but it would have been covered under this blackmail even if
it hadn't been.
When Congress raised the limit to 65 MPH, that ONLY applied to Federal
Interstate highways. The state of Florida decided to raise the limit on
the Florida Turnpike, which is not an Interstate, and was notified by
the DOT that if they didn't drop it back to 55 within 24 hours, they
would lose their highway funding. Unsurprisingly, they chose to
change it back.
It was only a few years ago that Congress passed a new law doing away
with the blackmail. Now states can set their own speed limits without
fear of losing federal funding.