[jerf]

"I hoped that the national 55-mile per-hour speed limit--already in force--would help reduce gasoline consumption"

That's clearly not the current reason.

And more than just California has a law like that. I know Michigan does, I imagine most states do. It does show that somebody at some point understood the purpose. By no means am I saying all laws or bad, or that laws are bad, or even in a way that any particular law is bad; I'm saying people all to frequently conflate the letter of the law with its purpose.

[tptacek]

Higher-speed drivers use more fuel and produce more pollution. That's not a controversial argument. Whether or not it's the "current" reason for the 60-75mph speed limits we have now doesn't seem relevant. The question is, "should we raise the speed limit". If raising it increases the speed at which people drive, then raising it will increase pollution, and thus morbidity.