In 1974 as a result of disrupted oil supplies from conflicts in the middle east the US government passed a 55 mile per hour national speed limit to conserve fuel. The oil crisis was sold to the public loosely around the narrative that the world was running out of oil. For the average American, drivers went from paying $0.36 per gallon at the pump in 1970 to $1.19 per gallon in 1980. In the late '70s and early '80s, there was a massive global recession. Drivers, especially commercial truckers, used unlicensed CB radios to locate service stations with better supplies of fuel, to notify other drivers of speed traps, and to organize blockades and convoys in a 1974 strike protesting the new speed limit and other trucking regulations. This counter culture to thwart laws and regulations was the background for the setting of the Australian produced Mad Max franchise of films. "In the not too distant future" (2021) anarchist speed demons roam an arid landscape plundering for fuel.