With Covid-19 shutdowns, people have been taking advantage of quiet highways to drive as fast as they can from New York City to Redondo Beach, California. They’re trying to break records set in an unofficial and secretive race called the “Cannonball.” Car and Driver Magazine editor Brock Yates came up with the idea for the race, and described it as a “balls-out, shoot-the-moon, rumble.” He also wrote the screenplay for the 1981 movie based on the race, “Cannonball Run,” which starred Burt Reynolds, Farrah Fawcett, and Roger Moore. In today’s episode, the history of the illegal cross country race, how it has evolved since 1971, and why fans say it will never go away. We speak with Brock Yates’ son, Brock Yates Jr., and Ed Bolian tells us about his record-setting cross-country drive in 2013. Say hello on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Sign up for our occasional newsletter, The Accomplice. Follow the show and review us on Apple Podcasts: iTunes.com/CriminalShow. We also make This is Love and Phoebe Reads a Mystery. Artwork by Julienne Alexander. Check out our online shop. Episode transcripts are posted on our website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Planes, trains, and automobiles that's how we get around.
But it hasn't always been the case for agents.
Humans have been adapting and revolutionizing how we travel.
So what does the future hold?
That's what we're going to be exploring in our new special series on the future of travel.
Whether it's electric powered planes, trains that go at hyper speeds, or automobiles that are full self driving, someday they will be, even though Elon promises them far too early.
In any case, it's really important to talk about where we're going and what we're going to do about climate change and a range of things.
Tune in to the future of travel, a pivot special series brought to you by Virgin Atlantic.
You can find it on the pivot feed wherever you get your podcasts.
The first speed limits in the United States were set in 1652 in what was then New Amsterdam, now New York City.
The law stated that wagons, carts and sleighs could not be run, rode or driven at a gallop, and the first speed limits for motor vehicles were set in 1901 in Connecticut, 12 mph in cities and 15 mph on country roads.
After that, states continued to set their own speed limits, ranging from 40 to 80 mph.
But in 1974, President Nixon signed legislation that established a national speed limit of 55 mph.