The Senate voted June 20 to repeal the national 55-m.p.h. speed limit. Those who support this repeal in the name of state’s rights should recognize the inevitable consequence: More people will die.
This isn’t a baseless prediction. We already have experience with partially repealing the 55 m.p.h. limit. Since 1987, 43 states have raised the limit to 65 m.p.h. on rural interstates. In 1994, for the seventh straight year, deaths on these routes were higher than before the speed limits were raised.
Deaths were 24 percent higher in 1993, for example, compared to the average number of deaths during 1982-86. This fatality increase on rural interstates posted at 65 m.p.h. occurred at the same time traffic deaths have been declining on other roadways.
The record on rural interstates also reveals that drivers don’t obey the 65 m.p.h. limit much better than 55. Drivers commonly exceed the limit by about 10 m.p.h. whether it’s set at 55 or 65.
The truth is that the double-nickel speed limit was the most effective traffic-safety policy ever enacted, saving 54,000 lives between 1974 and 1987. This life-saving benefit follows from the laws of physics. The severity of crashes increases disproportionately with speed at impact. The chances of death or serious injury double with every 10 m.p.h. above 50 that a vehicle is traveling.
Driving at high speeds is not a victimless crime. So long as the victims are anonymous statistics, instead of friends and loved ones, there is a complacency about it. Setting speed limits at reasonable levels–and consistently enforcing them–makes roads safer for all.
