U.S. Highway Fatality Analysis Under the 55 MPH Speed Limit, 1970-1979

Monthly U.S. highway fatality data from 1970 to 1979 was analyzed by Pamela R. Johnson to estimate the life-saving impact of the 55 mph National Maximum Speed Limit (NMSL). The analysis uses a time series model relating fatalities to vehicle miles traveled, safety improvements, and the NMSL law. The report concludes that erosion of speed limit compliance in 1977-1978 contributed to subsequent fatality increases.

Use Cases

• Modeling the impact of policy changes on public safety outcomes based on monthly fatality data.
• Analyzing time-series relationships between fatalities, vehicle miles traveled, and safety regulations.
• Evaluating the effectiveness of speed limit enforcement based on compliance and fatality trends mentioned in the description.
• Forecasting traffic safety outcomes using historical intervention data.

Strengths

• Analysis covers a 10-year period from 1970 to 1979.
• Model incorporates multiple factors: fatalities, vehicle miles traveled, safety improvements, and policy implementation.
• Report includes detailed examination of fatality composition for specific years (1976-1979).

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.

Provenance

Source

Pamela R. Johnson

Collection Method

Time series analysis of monthly fatality data.

Time Range

1970 to 1979

Freshness

Data covers 1970-1979; last update is unknown.

Geography

United States (implied by analysis of U.S. National Maximum Speed Limit)