The Crittenden Automotive Library

On This Day in Automotive History: January 2

On This Day in Automotive History
January 2

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Birthdays: Jules Moriceau (1887), Bill Lindau (1903), Charles Engle (1907), Frank Beardsley (1926), Bill Krause (1933), Nanni Galli (1940), John Linville (1943), Philippe Dagoreau (1946), Grant Adcox (1950), Rohan Skea (1954), Morris Coffman (1955), Kim Coates (1956), Beppe Gabbiani (1957), Jimmy Cope (1958), Jimmy Price (1959), Dale Fischlein (1960), Donny Paul (1961), Harry Nuttall (1963), Dave Stacy (1965), A.J. Winstead (1965), Eric Caudell (1967), Alfonso de Orleans (1968), Robby Gordon (1969), Buddy Gainey (1970), John Falconi (1971), Luis Perez Companc (1972), Chris Ratterree (1978), Adam Gay (1989), Carlos Munoz (1992)

1927: The Bureau of Public Roads announces the location of routes designated as part of the U.S. highway system. AASHO had approved the locations at its annual meeting on November 11, 1926, but public announcement was withheld until maps could be prepared and issued.

1970: The Highway Users Federation for Safety and Mobility is formed by the consolidation of the Automotive Safety Foundation, the National Highway Users Conference, and the Auto Industries Highway Safety Committee.

1974: In the midst of an energy crisis touched off by conflict in the Middle East, President Richard Nixon signs the Emergency Highway Energy Conservation Act, establishing a maximum national speed limit. No highway projects may be approved in any State having a maximum speed limit over 55 m.p.h. The Act, part of a nationwide effort to save oil, is a result of an oil embargo imposed by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries that forced Americans into long lines at gas stations. President Nixon estimates the new speed limit can save nearly 200,000 barrels of fuel a day.

On This Day in Automotive History: January 2