Video: 'CALIFORNIA goes to 55 MPH - 1974 News Report'

(Wednesday, January 2, 1974, during the 1973 oil crisis) — U.S. President Richard Nixon signed today a bill requiring states to limit highway speeds to a maximum of 55 miles an hour as a way of conserving gasoline in the face of an OPEC oil embargo.

Nixon estimated that “we can save nearly 200,000 barrels of fuel a day by observing a national limit of 55 miles an hour” on the highways.

While federal officials hoped gasoline consumption would fall by 2.2%, the actual savings were estimated at between 0.5% and 1%.

Video: 'Nixon sets 55mph speed limit for America's highways | Today in History'

The law was widely disregarded by motorists nationwide, and some states opposed the law, but many jurisdictions discovered it to be a major source of revenue.

Actions ranged from proposing deals for an exemption to de-emphasizing speed limit enforcement.

The NMSL was modified in 1987 and 1988 to allow up to 65 mph (105 km/h) limits on certain limited-access rural roads.

Video: '45 85 Part 12' (Jan. 2, 1974, at 6:39)

Congress repealed the NMSL in 1995, fully returning speed limit-setting authority to the individual states.

The law’s safety benefit is disputed as research found conflicting results.