Why America Imposed a 55 MPH National Speed Limit in the 1970s

Executive Briefing

• Triggered by the 1973 Arab oil embargo, President Nixon nationalized a 55 mph speed limit in 1974 to conserve fuel
• Projected to save over 200,000 barrels of fuel daily, the Emergency Highway Energy Conservation Act also promoted carpooling
• Road fatalities dropped sharply from 54,052 in 1973 to 45,196 in 1974, bolstering support for the law into the 1990s
• Congress gradually rolled back the limit, allowing 65 mph on interstates in 1987 and fully repealing federal control in 1995
• NIH estimates repealing the limit caused approximately 12,545 additional deaths and 36,583 injuries in the decade after 1995