Would raising the speed limit on Maryland's rural highways from 55 miles per hour to 65 mph make them less safe?
It's a controversial idea that has puzzled traffic experts even before the federal government authorized states to increase speed limits on their less densely populated interstate corridors in 1987.
The answer, according to the folks at the Virginia Department of Transportation, may surprise you.
The people who build and manage the Old Dominion's roads say studies show that their highways are no more dangerous as a result of a higher speed limit.
In fact, they think Virginia is safer because they raised the speed limit to 65 mph on rural interstates four years ago.
Hard to believe? Well, we warned you it's a controversial topic.
Last month, Intrepid Commuter asked our readers to examine the issue of highway speed limits.
We consulted the experts. We looked at the studies. We paid close attention to what our readers had to say and write on the subject.
Today, we offer the first of two columns examining the arguments pro and con in the speed limit debate and the implications for Maryland.
A little history
Only nine states and the District of Columbia maintain a 55 mph speed limit on all their highways, and all except Hawaii are located in the traffic-congested Northeast. Last year, the Maryland General Assembly adopted a program that would have authorized an experimental use of the 65 mph speed limit. But the legislation was vetoed by Gov. William Donald Schaefer, who faced considerable opposition from the insurance industry.
The Maryland highways that could qualify for the higher speed limit are: Interstate 95 north of Route 24 in Harford County to the state line, I-83 north of Hunt Valley to the state line, I-70 west of Bethany Lane in Howard County to Hancock, I-270 from Gaithersburg to Frederick, I-68 in Western Maryland excluding Cumberland, U.S. 50 from Bowie to Annapolis, and I-97 south of the Route 3 Business exit in Glen Burnie.
The argument against raising the speed limit has always been fairly straightforward. The faster vehicles are traveling, critics point out, the greater the risk: Drivers have less reaction time and the impact of collision is greater.
Opponents have also insisted that since drivers routinely violate the 55 mph speed limit now, raising it by 10 mph would cause even faster -- and hence more dangerous -- speeding. And, of course, they can point to a decreasing number of highway fatalities since the government imposed the 55 mph speed limit nationwide.
