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Cover of VOA by Sammy Hagar
Cover: VOA

Song · Sammy Hagar

“I Can't Drive 55” by Sammy Hagar

From the album VOA (1984)

“I Can't Drive 55” by Sammy Hagar appears on 77 radio countdowns from 28 stations between 1990 and 2026. It was first released in 1984 on the album VOA. Its best result is #87 on the WXPN 885 Ultimate Road Trip Songs (2010). In the combined RockLists rankings it is #367 classic rock song of all time.

77countdowns
28stations
#87best position
0#1 finishes
0top 10 finishes
1990–2026years charted

Watch

Sammy Hagar - I Can't Drive 55

Video from YouTube (SammyHagarVEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"I Can't Drive 55" kicks off VOA, Sammy Hagar's eighth studio album, and roared out as its lead single in 1984: a hard rock tantrum aimed squarely at the national 55 mph speed limit. The spark was a speeding ticket. Hagar was driving a rental car from Albany to Lake Placid at two in the morning, doing about 62 on an empty four-lane stretch of the Northway, when a cop pulled him over, and he wrote the song out of pure exasperation.

Ted Templeman produced, and a hugely successful video pushed it everywhere. It stuck, too: Hagar kept it in his live shows even after he joined Van Halen, and VH1 slotted it at 100 on its list of the greatest hard rock songs.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Classic Rock

Hard Rock & Metal

All Rock Formats

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1990 110 Z-Rock Z-Rock Top 1001 Songs of All-Time (1990) 1000
1994 303 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1994) 1000
1995 236 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1995) 1000
1996 167 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1996) 1000
1997 115 104.5 KZEP KZEP Memorial Weekend Top 500 (1997) 500
1998 142 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1998) 1000
1999 98 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1999) 998
2002 213 KISW KISW Top 999 of All Time (2002) 999
2004 295 92.3 KGON KGON Top 923 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2004) 923
2010 140 97.9 The Loop The Loop USO Rock 'N' Roll 500 (2010) 500
2010 87 WXPN WXPN 885 Ultimate Road Trip Songs (2010) 885
2011 643 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1100 Countdown (2011) 1100
2011 341 97.9 The Loop The Loop Rock N Roll 500 (2011) 500
2012 473 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2012) 500
2012 658 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1200 Countdown (2012) 1200
2013 483 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Firecracker 500 (2013) 500
2013 433 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Grand Jam 1000 (2013) 1000
2013 351 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR CT 500 (2013) 500
2014 664 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX 1K Countdown (2014) 1000
2014 518 Big 100 BIG 1000 New Year's Countdown (2014) 1000
2014 399 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Firecracker 400 (2014) 400
2015 434 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Classic Rock Countdown (2015) 1007
2015 207 I-95 I-95 Memorial Day Weekend Top 500 (2015) 500
2015 395 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Firecracker 500 (2015) 499
2016 294 103.5 The Fox The Fox Memorial Day 500 (2016) 299
2016 326 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Countdown for 2016 1007
2016 228 102.9 The Whale 102.9 The Whale Hartford 500 (2016) 500
2016 160 Qfm96 Qfm96 Memorial Day 500 (2016) 500
2017 329 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2017) 500
2018 256 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2018) 500
2019 270 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2019) 500
2019 353 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2019) 499
2019 134 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ 500 (2019) 500
2019 312 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2019) 500
2019 620 102.5 KZOK KZOK Top 1025 of 2019 1025
2019 431 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2019) 500
2020 861 102.5 KZOK KZOK Classic Rock Top 1025 (2020) 1025
2020 426 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2020) 500
2020 281 Q105.7 Q105.7 Memorial Day 500 (2020) 499
2020 312 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ 500 (2020) 500
2020 305 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2020) 500
2021 416 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2021) 500
2021 1007 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2021) 1043
2021 390 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2021) 500
2021 299 100.7 KSLX KSLX Arizona 500 (2021) 499
2021 194 WCSX WCSX Rock & Roll 500 (2021) 499
2021 488 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2021) 500
2021 455 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ 500 (2021) 500
2022 465 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2022) 500
2022 326 94.1 KRNA KRNA Memorial Day 500 (2022) 500
2022 342 102.5 KZOK KZOK Classic Rock Top 1025 (2022) 1025
2022 311 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2022) 500
2022 919 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2022) 1043
2022 392 97.1 The River River 500 (2022) 500
2022 348 100.7 KSLX KSLX Arizona 500 (2022) 500
2022 186 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2022) 500
2023 388 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2023) 500
2023 158 KSHE 95 KSHE 95 Rock N' Roll 500 (2023) 500
2023 272 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2023) 500
2023 974 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2023) 1043
2023 326 101.5 WPDH WPDH Top 1015 (2023) 1015
2023 407 97.1 The Drive 97.1 The Drive Memorial Day Weekend Rock N Roll 500 (2023) 500
2023 145 Qfm96 Qfm96 Memorial Day 500 (2023) 500
2024 245 KQRS KQRS KQ 500 (2024) 499
2024 153 Qfm96 Qfm96 Memorial Day 500 (2024) 498
2024 238 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Top 400 of the Last 40 Years (2024) 400
2024 462 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2024) 500
2024 259 KSHE 95 KSHE 95 Rock N' Roll 500 (2024) 500
2024 350 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2024) 499
2024 1003 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2024) 1043
2024 184 WMGK WMGK Philly 500 (2024) 500
2025 149 Qfm96 Qfm96 Memorial Day 500 (2025) 498
2025 471 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2025) 500
2025 499 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2025) 500
2025 246 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2025) 500
2025 359 WMGK WMGK Philly 500 (2025) 500
2026 318 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2026) 500

Also listed as: I Cant Drive 55.

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