News: Abbotsford, Wis. (January 4, 1945)

Contact: R. Lipprandt
Email: bob@wiclarkcountyhistory.org

----Source: The Tribune - Phonograph (Abbotsford, Clark Co. WI), Wednesday, January 7, 2009, page 2

Speed Limit Law Is Likely to Remain In Force

Washington: The increasingly critical tire shortage has caused ODT to abandon all thought of relaxing the so-called national 35 mile an hour speed limit for highway travel.

Recently consideration had been given to proposals to lift the limit, possibly to 45 miles an hour, it was learned, but all suggestions for modification now are out the window, for the immediate future, at least.

Tests have shown the 35 mile limit has been observed only spottily in the past. It was established by the Office of Defense Transportation in October, 1942, as a means of conserving tires. The only major modifications has been to permit trucks carrying vital war supplies to travel faster by flying an emergency pennant.

There is no Federal enforcement of the limit. Actually, it amounts to an appeal to states and municipalities for their cooperation in bringing about this limit.

Incomplete records at the Public Roads Administration, covering the 16 states which had reported up to Oct. 1, showed the average speed for all vehicles at 40.2 miles per hour. Indiana reported an average speed of 42.4.

New Year Begins With Cold Below Zero Weather

The sub-zero wave which has held so much of the country in its grip has a tight hold on Abbotsford, Wis.

Thermometers condense in the blow zero readings and stay there. Various reports were around 24 degrees below on Tuesday with some fluctuations as the day advanced.

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