[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1599 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1599

 To provide a fair and reasonable national standard for the setting of 
                             speed limits.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 1, 1993

 Mr. Roberts introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
              Committee on Public Works and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To provide a fair and reasonable national standard for the setting of 
                             speed limits.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as ``The Fair Speed Limit Act of 1993''.

SEC. 2. REFERENCES.

    Except as noted otherwise, title and section references herein are 
to sections of title 23, United States Code.

SEC. 3. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds that--
            (1) The national maximum speed limit lacks public support 
        and is hindering the application of engineering based speed 
        zoning practices.
            (2) Federally sponsored studies have repeatedly proven that 
        the safest and most efficiently enforced speed limits are those 
        based on the ``85th Percentile Rule''--a speed limit that 
        reflects and considers legal actions of normally prudent and 
        reasonable drivers.
            (3) The setting of speed limits below those acceptable to 
        responsible motorists leads to large scale noncompliance, 
        misallocation of enforcement and judicial resources and safety 
        problems caused by erratic traffic flow.
            (4) National speed limit standards that encourage the use 
        of proven traffic engineering principles will permit the States 
        and their respective local units of government to accommodate 
        their unique travel environments. The result will be greater 
        efficiency, enhanced safety, fairness, economic progress, and 
        better use of enforcement and judicial resources.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    (a) Speed Limit.--The maximum speed permitted on a street or 
highway.
    (b) 85 Percentile Speed.--The speed at or below which 85 percent of 
free flowing vehicles are traveling.
    (c) 67 Percentile Speed.--The speed at or below which 67 percent of 
free flowing vehicles are traveling.
    (d) State.--The term ``State'' shall have the meaning given it in 
section 401 of this title.
    (e) Free Flowing Traffic.--Vehicular traffic unencumbered by 
congestion, inclement weather, construction or maintenance, or law 
enforcement activity.
    (f) Secretary.--The Secretary of Transportation.

SEC. 5. NATIONAL SPEED LIMIT STANDARDS.

    (a) No speed limit shall be set to exceed, to the nearest five mile 
per hour increment, the 85 percentile speed of free flowing traffic.
    (b) No speed limit shall be set below, to the nearest five mile per 
hour increment, the 67 percentile speed of free flowing traffic.

SEC. 6. REPEAL OF NATIONAL MAXIMUM SPEED LIMIT.

    (a) Sections 154 and 141(a) of title 23, United States Code, and 
section 329 of the Department of Transportation and Related Agencies 
Appropriations Act, 1988 (Public Law 100-102), and section 1029 of the 
Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (Public Law 
102-240) are repealed.

SEC. 7. ESTABLISHMENT OF NATIONAL SPEED LIMIT STANDARD.

    (a) Each State shall measure a representative sample of free 
flowing vehicle speeds on distinct classes of streets, roads, and 
highways. Statutory speed limits for each class of street, road, or 
highway shall represent the 85 percentile speed for that entire class 
of street, road, or highway.
    (b) Individual streets, roads, or highways or segments thereof that 
exhibit traffic speeds significantly different from those specified by 
statute shall be posted with separate speed limits that reflect 85 
percentile speeds of free flowing traffic.
    (c) No street, road, or highway shall be posted nor have enforced a 
speed limit lower than the 67 percentile speed of free flowing traffic.
    (d) Exceptions to subsection (c) shall include construction and 
school zones.

SEC. 8. ENFORCEMENT.

    (a) The Secretary of Transportation shall not approve any project 
under section 106 of this title in any State which has a maximum speed 
limit in excess of the 85 percentile speed of free flowing traffic, as 
determined by established traffic engineering practices.
    (b) With the exceptions noted in section 7(d) of this Act, the 
Secretary of Transportation shall not approve any project under section 
106 of this title in any State which has a maximum speed limit less 
than the 67 percentile speed of free flowing traffic, as determined by 
established traffic engineering practices.
    (c) Each State shall certify to the Secretary before January 1 of 
each year that it is enforcing all speed limits on public highways in 
accordance with section 5 of this Act.

SEC. 9. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This Act shall take effect immediately upon enactment of this Act.

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