Highway Safety: Monitoring Practices To Show Compliance With Speed Limits Should Be Reexamined
RCED-88-93BR
Published: Mar 31, 1988. Publicly Released: Mar 31, 1988.
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Highlights
In response to a congressional request, GAO examined states' monitoring of motorists' compliance with the 55 miles-per-hour (mph) national speed limit.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Transportation | The Secretary of Transportation should direct the Administrator, FHwA, to undertake a study of the feasibility of instituting a weighting scheme that places greater weight on high-speed violations and violations on roads of lower design quality in assessing whether to sanction a state for noncompliance with the 55-mph national maximum speed limit. The Secretary should report the results of this analysis to Congress along with any recommendations for legislative changes necessary to improve the compliance monitoring system. |
The Department of Transportation (DOT) does not believe that flaws of the compliance criteria will be eliminated merely by changing the criteria. DOT recommends reforming the law to keep the requirement for the states to certify that they have posted the correct speeds, but repeal compliance criteria, sanctions for noncompliance, and mandated monitoring and reporting requirements.
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Topics
Accident preventionFederal aid for highwaysstate relationsHighway safetyMotor vehicle safetyNoncomplianceSafety standardsState-administered programsTraffic violationsTransportation