Do road deaths occur partially because of higher speed limits?

Even though traffic-accident fatalities are down, more and more people die in accidents on highways with higher speed limits, because speed limits are increasing.

Raising the speed limits on interstates and freeways isn’t safe at all and causes more deaths than when the speed limits are down, according to a study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

Compared to states where speed limits weren’t increased highway deaths increased by 15 percent, based on studies by the institute.

The national speed limit was repealed by Congress in 1995. This allowed states to set their own speed limits.

Rural interstates, urban interstates and freeways had higher speed limits in 24 states. In some states, speed limits were raised on two-lane highways and in other states they weren’t posted for vehicles during the day.

A number of the states that raised their speed limits are now having second considerations come to mind.

When the state of Montana increased speed limits, their fatalities rose about 30 percent. In fact, Louisiana had second thoughts that turned into actions. They changed their speed limits from 75 down to 70 miles per hour.

In 1996, the states that raised their speed limits, to 70 mph in rural and urban interstates and on many other roads, had to suffer an 18 percent increase in road fatalities. County officials then received a greater power to change speed limits in order to try to decrease the number of road deaths.

According to the National Center for Statistics and Analysis, 41,798 people died in motor crashes in 1996, compared to the 41,901 people who died in 1995 with higher speed limits. In 1995, the number of fatalities blamed on speed also dropped down to 12,998 in 1996 from 13,256.

While some, like the IIHS and many others, claim that higher speed limits make the roads much more dangerous than if they had lower speed limits many others say that the roads are actually safer.

Brian O’Neill, Institute president, says, “It’s clear from this study that the current round of speed limit increases, like increases on rural interstates in the 1980s, is costing hundreds of lives per year. This cost could go up in the future because research shows actual speeds continue to rise in the years following a speed limit change.”