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November 28, 1995
Web posted at: 8:30 p.m. EST
From Correspondent Carl Rochelle and news service reports
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Motorists were thrilled and safety advocates were dismayed Tuesday when President Clinton signed a $6 billion bill that ends federal control over speed limits. States will now set their own standard, unencumbered by a national 55 mph speed limit.
Clinton made clear his reluctance to approve the measure. He said he feared that its provisions would increase the number of highway fatalities.
"I am deeply disturbed by the repeal of both the national maximum speed limit and the law encouraging states to enact motorcycle helmet-use laws," the president said in a written statement. "Without question, these laws have saved our lives."
He called on states to act responsibly and added that his administration would redouble efforts to protect highway travelers. He directed the transportation department to prepare an action plan to promote highway safety.
White House spokesperson Mike McCurry said he signed the bill because he believed a veto could cost the states nearly $6 billion in "necessary highway improvement projects," including completing critical segments in the interstate highway system.
But to those who had urged Clinton to veto the bill, safety concerns outweighed money. Judie Stone of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety thought it was an unjust trade. "We have got $6 billion in funds for the roads. We've got another $19 billion that will be the result of motor vehicle crashes if the speed limits go up the way we think they're going to," she said.
D. Gail Morrison of the National Motorists Association said he was delighted. His group had been fighting the federal speed limits and motorcycle helmet requirements.
States must wait 10 days before they can impose their own speed limits. A half-dozen already have laws that raise their speed limits automatically when the federal mandate is lifted. In Kansas, Nevada and Wyoming, the speed limit would jump to 75 mph.
Montana will have no daytime speed limit. Maj. Bert Obert of the Montana Highway Patrol said state troopers will be relying on the "careless driving citation" to keep drivers in check. "We're concerned that removing the daytime speed limit will impact the number of accidents, but we're hoping that it will not affect the fatality rate," he said.
Clarence Ditlow of Washington D.C.'s Center for Auto Safety compared the legislation to a death warrant, pointing out that many who might have survived traveling at 55 or 60 mph are less likely to survive if they crash at higher speeds. "The penalty for speeding was a ticket, but now, for many, it will be death," he said.
Although Obert expects some drivers to "try out their wings," he is hoping that most people will settle back into a "comfortable" speed, which he pegged at around 70 miles an hour.
The 55 mph was imposed in 1974 as an energy-saving measure after the Middle East oil embargo. Highway fatalities dropped by nearly 9,000 the following year, and safety advocates heralded the speed limit as a life-saver. States were later permitted to set a 65 mph on rural interstates.
Other provisions of the bill may take effect earlier than the speed limit removal. For instance, billboards might crop up in scenic areas where they had been prohibited. The law gives states the responsibility for regulating where highway advertising can be placed.
Motorcyclists, free from federal helmet laws, can now travel without protective head gear. Some bikers said it might be more dangerous, but Wayne Curtin of the Motorcycle Riders Foundation said it was "worth the risk to maintain personal freedom."
In some cases, highway laws will be more stringent. States will be required to make it illegal for those under 21 to drive with a blood alcohol level of .02 or higher. If states don't comply within three years, they stand to lose federal highway funds.
The highway bill identifies 160,000 miles of national highways, including the interstates, as priority areas for development. Although these roads make up only 4 percent of the nation's highways, they carry 40 percent of its traffic.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
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