Raising the speed limit

There was a time when highway speeds were limited to 55 miles per hour. The speed limit was inaugurated to save fuel. Environmental and safety concerns were also in the mix.

Now, speed limits in 35 states are 70 mph or more. A toll road in Texas between Houston and San Antonio has an 85 mph limit.

Some say this is just the beginning of higher speed limits, what with new automobiles being safer and handling better at speed than older ones.

This week the Washington State Department of Transportation held hearings on raising the speed limit on I-90 west of Spokane. The proposed new limit is 75 mph for a 100-mile stretch of the road. The limit is currently 70 mph.

Increasing the speed limit by a mere five miles per hour is not a big deal, but certain considerations must be taken into account.

Raising limits will increase gas consumption. That might be good for the state with its endangered gas tax revenues because of more efficient cars and electric cars. It, however, is not good for the environment. More pollutants will come with higher speeds. It is not good for road safety. “Speed kills” is still true.

The real argument against such a change has nothing to do with the environment and fuel usage. The real deterrent to raising legal speeds is simply who is on the roads.

Technology has given today’s drivers a myriad of distractions. Texting, cell phones, maps, GPS and the like all distract drivers. Many drivers think nothing of conducting several different activities while behind the wheel, and the old distractions of eating, drinking and animated conversation still exist.

It has been suggested that higher speeds will make drivers more aware of the dangers of driving and will make them pay more attention to what they are doing.

Money bet!

Higher speeds just mean other drivers will have less time to react to distracted and dangerous drivers.

The answer is to direct more attention to driver training than to new opportunities for road tragedies.

Gordon Forgey

Publisher