Speed limits rising
Moderated by Tom Sabulis
The Georgia Department of Transportation is looking at raising the limit from 55 to 65 on I-285. In Texas, the nation’s first 85 mph speed limit is planned for a 41-mile toll road between Austin and San Antonio. A local policy analyst argues that increased speed doesn’t necessarily mean more accidents and fatalities. A national safety expert says drivers automatically go over current limits and the statistics don’t bode well for healthy travel at higher speeds.
Commenting is open below Adrian Lund’s column.
By Benita M. Dodd
Most Georgians who travel the long, watch-paint-dry stretch that is I-16 between Savannah and Macon understand the unwritten rule:
You may exceed the posted speed limit of 70 mph, but not by more than 9 mph. If law enforcement clocks you at 80 mph or over, you’re toast.
In Texas, transportation officials acknowledge this reality and want to profit from it. In their case, they’re not just seeking revenue from speeding tickets, like most other jurisdictions.
They plan to implement the nation’s first 85-mph speed limit on a stretch of toll road in return for $100 million from the private toll operator.
The plan, for about half of a 91-mile toll road between Austin and San Antonio, is by no means outrageous or a harbinger of safety problems:
- Some rural roads in Texas and Utah already permit speeds up to 80 mph. A Utah Highway Patrol spokesman warned that people who thought they were safe in the 10 mph-or-less window would find less leniency for exceeding the speed limit.
- More than half the German Autobahn’s 8,000-mile network has no posted speed; the average speed is 84 mph.
- Australia’s “autobahn” was Stuart Highway, a 1,761-mile stretch where an 80-mph speed limit was implemented in 2007. Just this month, Northern Territory leaders expressed support for once again eliminating the limit, pointing out that 44 people died on the territory’s roads in 2006 but more than 50 were killed in 2007 — after the speed limit was introduced.
The United States saw a 22.1 percent decline in traffic fatalities from 2001 to 2010, according to the Annual Road Safety Report 2011 produced by the International Transport Forum.
Forty-eight percent of those fatalities took place on highways outside urban areas, despite higher population concentrations in urban areas.
Yes, higher speed limits are often allowed in rural areas, but it’s tough to determine how many fatalities would have been avoided if the speed was lower, drivers were less tired on long roads or trauma care facilities were nearer.
The speed differential — the difference between the speed of vehicles continuing along a main roadway versus those that are entering and exiting the road — is not as great a concern on a well-kept, limited-access toll road that has few entry and exit points.
The private operator is betting that when the toll road opens in November, the higher speed will draw more customers looking for a quicker, faster drive and willing to pay extra for a congestion-free trip.
It’s a safe bet.
It’s also planning ahead: “Smart” cars that can automatically keep a safe distance from other vehicles — and can even operate driverless — already promise to be the wave of the future.
They increase lane capacity, improve traffic flow, set higher safety benchmarks and avoid human error.
Google recently announced that its driverless cars had traveled 300,000 miles without incident.
Of course, some Texans may think officials appeared to “game the system” by deciding to simultaneously reduce the existing speed of the adjacent “free” frontage road.
Benita M. Dodd is Vice President at the Georgia Public Policy Foundation.
By Adrian Lund
Imagine cruising down the highway at 85 mph without getting so much as a raised eyebrow, let alone a ticket.
For many drivers, it sounds like a dream, and it’s set to come true on one Texas road.
But we’ve seen this one before, and it doesn’t end well.
Decades of research show that when speed limits are raised, drivers go faster and more people die in crashes.
The Texas Transportation Commission’s decision to establish the highest speed limit in the land on a new toll road between Austin and San Antonio means drivers there will be able to get to their destinations quickly, but at a cost.
High speeds increase the likelihood of a crash while simultaneously slashing the odds of surviving one.
Crashes are more likely because, at a higher speed, a vehicle travels a longer distance in the split second it takes to react to an emergency.
And the faster the vehicle is going, the further it will travel before coming to a stop after the driver slams on the brakes.
When crashes occur, they are deadlier at high speeds because the energy involved increases exponentially as speed rises.
At the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, before we rate a vehicle for frontal crash-worthiness, we send it hurtling toward a barrier at 40 mph, resulting in a severe collision.
Most new vehicles today do well in our moderate frontal overlap test, meaning people could survive a similar real-world crash without serious injuries.
But at high speeds, all bets are off.
The vehicle’s structure won’t hold up, and airbags and safety belts won’t be able to do their job. When a crash is imminent, a car traveling 65 mph has a much better chance of getting down to a survivable speed before impact than a car traveling 85 mph.
We know that many drivers exceed posted limits, but that doesn’t mean they don’t take them into account.
Drivers typically pick a speed at which they think they won’t get a ticket — often 5 to 10 mph over the limit.
Many Texas drivers are no doubt already used to driving 85 mph on roads with 75 or 80 mph limits.
They’ll read the 85 mph signs as license to go 90 or more.
The 17 years since Congress did away with the national 55-mph maximum speed limit have given us plenty of opportunities to see what happens when speed limits are raised.
After the speed limit on three urban freeways in Texas was raised from 55 to 70 in the mid-1990s, we found that half the vehicles were going faster than 70 within a year, compared with 15 percent before.
Seventeen percent were exceeding 75 mph, compared with 4 percent before the change.
Around the country, such increases translated into more deaths. In 24 states that raised speed limits, including Georgia, we found 15 percent more fatalities on interstates and freeways than otherwise would have been expected.
Even with today’s speed limits, speed-related crashes cause more than 10,000 deaths a year — nearly a third of all crash fatalities in the country.
States could prevent some of these deaths if, instead of giving drivers permission to go ever faster, they vigorously enforced existing limits to slow drivers down.
Adrian Lund is president of the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety.
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33 comments Add your comment
SAWB
September 17th, 2012
4:34 pm
As one who frequently travels the mind numbing stretch of Interstate 16 I can attest to the benefits of higher speed. However, the idea of increasing the speed limit on I-285 does not seem to make sense. What we really need on I-285 is greater enforcement of not only speeding laws, but also the assorted reckless driving statutes.
Now, if we apply the principal of greater freedom = greater responsibility and ramp up enforcement I might be open to increased speeds.
Marlboro Man
September 17th, 2012
5:09 pm
55 saves gasoline.
Rick in Grayson
September 17th, 2012
5:13 pm
Please stagger the speed limits in the lanes. Leftmost lanes should be travelling faster than the rightmost lane. In traffic where every car is side by side, it is difficult to change lanes. Slower traffic in the leftmost lanes should be ticketed.
too little time
September 17th, 2012
5:20 pm
How about starting with stricter enforcement of current laws INCLUDING the a**holes who ride in the far left lane(s) going slower than prevailing traffic?
I have never seen or heard of ANYONE getting a ticket for going slower in the left hand lanes than prevailing traffic. It is a law that has never (or rarely) ever been enforced. Of course the opinions cited in this article don’t mention how those laws are STRICTLY enforced on the Autobahn but NEVER enforced in the U.S.
Shemeka
September 17th, 2012
5:20 pm
You must be kidding. The only people who drive @ 55mph on I-285 are those who really and truly don’t want to get pulled over…illegals, no drivers license/insurance, intoxicated, otherwise impaired, driving a stolen vehicle.
For everyone else it’s been off to the races for years, many people probably don’t even realize the speed limit is still 55.
Eric
September 17th, 2012
8:26 pm
I say keep what we have and proven sound: 55 on I-285 and 70 maximum on rural highways like I-985 past Gainesville, etc. But 80 is out of the question–way too dangerous, esp. big trucks still ever-present.
Eric
September 17th, 2012
8:31 pm
Really hope the “smart” cars are tabled, however. I would feel like a robot if no personal decision-making allowed. What if I had a hospital emergency, etc. that I needed to go faster suddenly but couldn’t because of a preplanned, state-controlled vehicle (is what we’d have).
Thinking?
September 18th, 2012
7:27 am
So, if 75 is safer than 85 and 65 is safer than 75, etc. why don’t we limit the speeds to 40 as tested by the insurance groups? That’s the logic. It’s always better to save a life by limiting things, right?
jabster
September 18th, 2012
8:27 am
Riding a bike or taking transit saves gasoline, if that’s what concerns you. 55 is NOT a magic number. Look it up.
I remember when the speed limit on the Perimeter was 70.
People don’t obey speed limits because they aren’t grounded in reality and sound engineering. Legislatures and law enforcement are not entitled to their own reality-distortion field where they can pass a law and enforce it and expect the whole world to change. They may expect it, but I expect to win the lottery, too.
Keep passing bad laws, keep whining about why they get no respect, and keep failing to put the two together.
Note for all you left-lane hogs: Doing the speed limit is no longer a defense to avoid a “Slower Traffic Keep Right” ticket. Move over, or get pulled over.
The Lane Ranger 2.0
September 18th, 2012
8:46 am
Speed is obviously a negative factor, but it is not the main blight on our local freeways.
Atlanta’s traffic problem is that radio stations like HOT 97.5 FM and V-103 prohibit local drivers listening to those stations while behind the wheel from being able to use turn signals, merge successfully with other vehicles or park vehicles in designated spaces properly.
Thomas R. Buchanan, P.E.
September 18th, 2012
9:34 am
Please fix the duplication in these two pieces and repost.
Road Scholar
September 18th, 2012
11:31 am
On I 16, the traffic volumes and point of vehicle-vehicle conflicts are low. The ride is very boring except for the truck traffic, but most trucks stay to the right, “slower” lane.. There are miles between interchanges. Higher speeds make sense.
On I 285 and metro Interstates, the points of v-v conflicts are more numerous since there is a huge traffic difference. Will this speed limit be electronically posted and be variable, dependent on the congestion level/actual running speeds? Accidents/accident potential? Will GDOT lengthen the on /off ramps to allow motorists to accel to the posted speed BEFORE they merge into the traffic? Will speeds lower at rush hour? Many ramps are too short to do this due to the close spacing of the interchanges. Also the “turbulence” of traffic getting on/off the Interstate also slows traffic; will tickets be issued for going too slow, illegal/ late lane(s) changes?
If I 285 and the major interstates had a collector distributor parallel lanes separated by a barrier, that would provide longer distances on the mainline between exits/entrances that would make the increased speed safer and more logical. It would address the difference in operating speeds from thru drivers and “local” drivers entering/exiting the road.
MANGLER
September 18th, 2012
11:37 am
There just doesn’t seem to be any reasoning with people who think they are entitled to drive however they want whenever they want. Yes, the word is entitled. You signed an agreement with the State and with every other driver when you were granted a license that you would abide by the rules of driving, regardless of what your personal arm chair traffic engineering standards may be.
Jabster 8:27: driving the speed limit is not an excuse to be in the left lane(s)… really? So those lanes exist solely for speeding? Then those lanes should have radar guns primed on them at all times.
Too little time 5:20: The Autobahn has no posted speed limits in some areas (there are speed limits near cities ya know) and therefore no expectation of cars traveling at relative speeds to one another – so yeah, go 50 in the left and someone coming up from behind doubling your speed is an issue. But go 100 through Berlin and see how fast they take your license away from you.
A road with 2 lanes it is appropriate to keep right unless passing, as there are limited lanes. However, in urban areas with many lanes, use them all, that’s what they are there for. It is legal to pass on the right (in most States), so if someone ahead of you isn’t traveling to your liking, feel free to pass them on the right. Just hold off on the swerving immediately in front of them like a prick because you felt personally violated. That just shows how immature you are, and likely shouldn’t be piloting a heavy machine at high speeds.
And have you ever truly stopped to think about the time you’ll save by going an extra 10mph on your commute? What is the purpose of gunning it 80+ just so you can get to the slowed down cars ahead that much quicker? You aren’t talking about rural stretches with 2 lanes, you’re talking about urban areas with 5-8 lanes, all of which are backed up here and there (hence the lower speed limits in cities). You are actually the problem with the weaving and the tailgating and the aggressive driving. All for what, to potentially shave 30 seconds to 2 minutes off of an average commute? Guess what, that red light at the off-ramp will level your playing field and the car you passed 5 exists ago will be sitting right there next to you at that red light (smirking to himself at your impatience and where it got you).
Road Scholar: there is hope for you young Padawan!
My only advice to y’all is just remember, that idiot that you don’t like being behind, or next to, is also a person, with a job, and a family, just like you.
MrLiberty
September 18th, 2012
11:56 am
A much-needed improvement for 285. Now on the east side the speed limit will only be 10mph lower than the average speed (for the side that never has any traffic). Now if the DOT would just figure out how to properly use Yield and Keep Moving signs and get the traffic lights properly programmed, commuters might actually have a chance.
Han Solo
September 18th, 2012
12:36 pm
Traveling through hyperspace ain’t like dusting crops boy!
MrLiberty
September 18th, 2012
1:01 pm
Hopefully this will keep the donut munchers at Dunkin rather than out causing crashes on the perimeter as they sit there “raising revenue”.
tRUTH
September 18th, 2012
1:34 pm
1. The left hand lane is for people doing the speed limit to pass those who are not. It is not for those who chose to drive faster than the speed limit. This lane is meant to be a passing lane only. Not a cruising lane.
2. if the speed limit is 55 all law enforcement officials in the State of Georgia have the authority to pull you over at 51. A cushion is givin only because the cost to prosecute the ticket is more than the money brought in by the fine.
3. In a two lane rural section where there is a skip striped passing zone you are only allowed to pass someone that is going below the speed limit. if you pass at a higher speed than the posted limit you can still be charged with speeding, and an improper lane change.
It all comes down to the fact that this is on I-285 where people drive 85-90 regularly. Changing the limit will not make much of a difference at all.
richard
September 18th, 2012
2:02 pm
I285 on the West side needs to be 70 or 75 at least. And things would be better if slow drivers in the left lane would mind the signs that say slower traffic keep right. And on the West side on I285 it would be nice if the trucks not allowed in two left lanes were enforced. The truckers ignore these signs regularly probably because they are small and use small type.
captain blah
September 18th, 2012
2:42 pm
Law enforcement should “ENFORCE” the move over law for slower traffic that will not yield the left lane. This scenario creates more of a hazard for travelling motorists than someone speeding by them. When someone impedes the “flow” of traffic, accidents will happen. For a fact, mimimum speed is not enforced on 4 lane highways with divided medians nor interstates in Georgia. Law enforcement officials pick and choose anyway on who to give a speeding ticket especially the motorcycle cops in the Atl. Law enforcement WILL NOTchase down a driver going 90 in traffic, which is understandable but will give you a ticket for driving 75 in a 65 all day long especially Henry and Fulton county because of their quotas mandated by the governor’s office of highway safety and state public safety intiatives for revenue.
jabster
September 18th, 2012
4:18 pm
Mangler: OCGA Section 40-6-184. Look it up.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has NEVER, not EVER, found a law that toughens laws or heightens enforcement re: driving that it has ever disagreed with. If a law cracks down on something, it is invariably good to them. But sheer logic and the human condition dictate that legislators don’t (CAN’T) bat 1.000 and make perfect decisions regarding life and liberty each time. I guess government means never admitting you made a mistake.
Just try and prove me wrong. Bring it!
The number of sheeple who worship the state makes me worry dearly for this country.
In the News | Georgia Public Policy Foundation
September 18th, 2012
4:46 pm
[...] The Foundation’s Benita Dodd writes in an op-ed in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution of September 17, 2012, that raising the speed limit can be a safe move in the right direction. [...]
tRUTH
September 18th, 2012
5:23 pm
Richard – Those signs are for drivers doing less than the speed limit. If the driver is driving the speed limit they do not have to yeild the lane to you so you can exceed the speed limit.
Captain Blah – There is no “Move Over” law for yeilding the left lane. Like I said to Richard above if the driver is driving at the speed limit they have every right to be there. THey do not have to move over to allow you to exceed the speed limit. The “Move Over” law is for emergency vehicles parked on the shoulder so idiots do not hit them.
An observer
September 18th, 2012
9:43 pm
It is okay if speeders want to kill themselves. The only problem is that they often take others with themselves because they really are not as good drivers as they imagine themselves to be.
Bill
September 18th, 2012
10:53 pm
Since the elimination of the national 55 speed limit, the mantra of “speed kills” touted by the NHTSA and insurance companies has not been supported by crash data. Since 1995, fatalities per million miles traveled have been static or decreased. Since Texas has an 80 mph limit in effect, drivers are likely already exploring the 85 mph limits, the change allows them to do so legally.
Observed behavior in the Southeast says 5-20 mph, i.e., 70-85 is the norm on interstates which further refutes the “speed kills” argument. 2010 had fewer fatalities than 1949.
2010 NHTSA data states 59% of fatalities occurred in single car crashes, which indicates factors other than speed are at work, such as loss of control thru inattention. Motorcycle deaths have almost doubled since 1995 & 32% of all fatal crashes involved alcohol. Reduce these by 50% to have a positive impact on fatalities.
Rickster
September 19th, 2012
8:28 am
Cudos to MANGLER. You said it well, and based on facts and truth.
However, as a life-long Atlantan, I would add that the reason behind the current is based on the ’70s energy crisis. That’s when gasoline prices soared from ~.40/gal to up over .60/gal and the Nixon administration wanted to lower the Nation’s speed limit to a maximum of 50mph to save gas and reduce the Nation’s need to depend on other countries for foreign oil (sound familiar). As a result, the trucking industry had a cow and protested more than a little. They then asked for a maximum of 60mph. That’s when the great compromise was set at 50. Now, I’m not saying that Nixon was a great anything, but that move actually worked. Saved gas AND lives!
That’s the end of today’s history lesson; but not my blog.
Now that gasoline prices are back down to below .40/gallon, AND there’s no shortage of oil, energy or anything in this Nation, I see no reason to keep the speed limit at 50mph. Shucks, let’s raise the limit to 150! At least a third of us will make to our (final) destination that much quicker!
Seriously, if driving slower by lowering the speed limit back in the ’70’s to help save gas and reduce dependency on foreign oil, why in the h3!! would anyone in their right mind want to increase the speed today? And just as MANGLER said: to get there a whole 2 minutes faster!
Just a comment – and a History lesson!
Rickster
September 19th, 2012
8:31 am
That should read: was set at 55mph (not 50).
Good Grief
September 19th, 2012
9:03 am
I like the German system of slower speed in the outside lanes, and getting faster the farther toward the inside you get. But I would also support a relaxation of speed limits during the hours of 1am to 4 or 5 am. The problem with speed limits is that they all too often bunch cars up in packs, and then when one person screws up, it causes damage to multiple cars. Then there are places with winding, 2-lane roads and speed limits of 55, but then the next road over, a relatively straight 4-lane road has a speed limit of 45.
I was under the impression that, when driving on the highways, the rule was “keep right except to pass.” I personally can’t stand it when someone gets in the left lane and barely goes the speed limit with no intention of passing anyone.
MoFaux
September 19th, 2012
9:46 am
@ Bill: You aren’t factoring in vehicle safety improvements at all. Cars have gotten a LOT safer over the decades. We weren’t even required to wear seat belts at ALL until about 20 years ago I think. This makes a HUGE difference in why vehicle fatalaties have remained relatively stagnant over the years, despite increased speed limits.
Woody
September 19th, 2012
10:04 am
I myself practice my God-given right to drive 8mph over the speed limit. I’m surprised our forfathers didn’t put it into the Constitution. But increasingly, the interstates are playgrounds for the truly lawless drivers who like to go 100mph, just weaving in and out between the other cars. The speed limit is irrelevant to this problem. I would like to see the state patrol going after these folks, using the rest of us as spotters; I’d happily call them in using my cellphone if I thought there was a system in place to catch them. Maybe the state could pay anyone ten bucks for a successful report. As it is, I just tell my wife – “well, there goes another organ donor.”
Grumps
September 19th, 2012
1:20 pm
I own two vehicles. The speed limit is the same for both. I’ll assure you I’m a lot more comfortable on I-16 at 100 mph in my little German sporty sedan than I am at 70 mph in my 3/4 ton pickup.
I’d like to see some statistics regarding fatal accidents on limited access highways where excess speed was the primary cause. I’ll guess there are not many — reckless driving (drunk or sober), too fast for conditions (rain and snow, etc), and similar violations of good sense will probably be way ahead of pure speed.
Grumps
September 19th, 2012
1:29 pm
Besides, speed limits, like red light cameras, are just another means for the state and the county to steal money from folks. See the stupid super-speeder law. I’m not a super-speeder until I go 75 on a 2 lane road (which could be up to 40 over the speed limit), but I’m a super-speeder at 85 on I-16? What’s with that?
Who came up with this lame brain idea? And dear old Sonny said, when he signed the bill, how much this new law will increase revenue for the state.
Grumps
September 19th, 2012
1:33 pm
@Rickster and Mangler
It’s about 150 miles from Macon to Savannah on I-16. At 50 mph, that’s 3 hours. At 75 mph, that’s 2 hours, and at 100 mph, that’s 1.5 hours. If you can’t do the math in your head, use a calculator. The formula is D = RT.
Not two minutes…
meetoo
September 19th, 2012
2:38 pm
I have been driving all across the US for close to 35 years now. Even back during the NMSL (55 maximum) everyone drove 65 – ~70-75 mph. I well remember the time before this when many western states had no numerical speed limit.
I drove regularly in Montana in the late 90s when there was no posted limit ( Reasonable & Prudent during daylight hours was the law/ 65 mph night). In Montana on two lane roads during this time speeds topped out around 75 mph and around 85-90 mph on freeways. I would drive for 10 hours @ ~90 mph on interstates across the state, a good felling I will never forget!!!
In the most of the rest of the west today including Montana the allowed limit is 80 to 85-90 mph depending on weather conditions. Today you can cross many of these states with the cruise set at 84-85 mph without worry of a ticket as long as you follow the real safety related enforced rules of the road. In these places you will get pulled over and charged with aggressive driving ticket $$$$ in a second for doing any of the following: Following Too Close, Failing to Signal for lane changes @ speed, and a real biggie is Blocking The Passing Lanes.
In flat empty straight as an arrow rural GA there is no reason for the limit to be kept @ the low political limits posted today. Most of the interstates and four lane highways across the state could easily safely support 75-85 posted limits, from travels across the state these are the safely traveled speeds today. For limits to have any relevance they must be based on real world 85th percentile speeds, 70+ years of DOT date proves this. Over the last few years posted limits across the US have been rising and every year without exception the death rate per miles traveled has continued to dropped to lowest level in the history of driving!!! Next time some idiot quotes that tired old line of speed kills, ask them if so how is the above quoted fact possible????
Today anywhere and everywhere across the US north south east & west with no regard to the under posted political maximums on two lane roads 65-75 mph and on rural freeways 75-90 mph is the real limit today. Drivers going with the flow are not the danger but drivers doing things that impede flow are.
And on drivers just going faster if the limit is raised western states have document the opposite. What they have found is that when the limit is raised to close the actual 85th percentile speed travel average speeds drop. Drivers will only drive as fast or as slow as they feel safe and comfortable with no regard to what arbitrary numbers are painted on a sign!! If they were to post 70 on the signs on I-285 flow speed would actually drop not increase, Colorado DOT, CAL DOT, Utah DOT just to name a few have the documented data to prove this is what would happen.