Safety measures nearly universal by the year 2000 were relatively unknown in 1955. Aside from two layout changes to make the circuit shorter, the Le Mans circuit was largely unaltered since the inception of the race in 1923, when top speeds of cars were typically in the region of . By 1955, top speeds for the leading cars were over . That said, the circuit had been resurfaced and widened after the war. The pits and grandstands had been reconstructed, but there were no barriers between the pit lane and the racing line, and only a earthen bank between the track and the spectators. The cars had no seat belts; the drivers reasoned that it was preferable to be thrown clear in a collision rather than be crushed or trapped in a burning car.