Interstate speed unchanged by new limits

By Dan Gearino, Journal Des Moines Bureau | Posted: Wednesday, October 12, 2005

DES MOINES - The average speed on Iowa's rural interstates is virtually unchanged since the speed limit was raised from 65 to 70 mph in July.

In the week that ended Oct. 1, the average speed was 71.6 mph, up just 1.2 mph from the week that ended May 21.

The average is compiled from Iowa Department of Transportation sensors at nine rural interstate locations.

"There hasn't been a whole lot of change," said Capt. Pat Hoye of the Iowa State Patrol.

The share of drivers going more than 80 mph rose from 4 percent to 6 percent, while the share of drivers exceeding the speed limit dropped, with 87 percent breaking the 65 mph limit in May and 66 percent breaking the 70 mph limit in October.

The time period and locations were chosen because they are in line with trends before and after the speed limit change.

One factor driving the numbers may be heightened police presence on the interstates. State patrol officers wrote 3,672 tickets in July and 3,976 tickets in August, up 18 percent and 28 percent respectively from those months last year.

Gov. Tom Vilsack predicted this result when he signed the speed limit bill in April. The bill also raised speeding fines and court fees.

Vilsack argued that the higher limit combined with strict enforcement would lead to little change in the average speed and improved compliance with the law. This was a reversal from his previous opposition to raising the limit.

He defended the new law last week on a KUNI public radio call-in program when a caller questioned the wisdom of raising the speed limit at a time of high gasoline prices.

"I think people were going pretty fast before the speed limit was increased and I think what we attempted to do was match the speed limit with the reality of the highway," Vilsack said.

During legislative debate on the bill, Rep. Scott Raecker, R-Urbandale, said his tendency to drive the speed limit had become a running joke in his family, as hundreds of cars whizzed by him on the interstate. He voted to raise the limit and likes the results.

"Now that the speed limit has changed, I'm now traveling with the flow of traffic. I do not pass very many cars, nor do many cars pass me," he said.

He said the highways feel safer, though transportation officials say they need at least six months of accident data to make any judgments about safety with the new speed limit.

As of August, there were 29 fatalities on rural interstates, but the numbers haven't yet been sorted by month or by the cause of the accident. The average annual number of fatalities from 2000 to 2004 is 33.

Sen. Herman Quirmbach, D-Ames, a leading opponent of raising the speed limit, said the new limit wastes gasoline and will ultimately lead to more fatalities. He wonders why there wasn't as strong a push by the state patrol to enforce the old limit.

"Speed kills. Traffic officials have told us this for decades," he said.

The big question going forward is whether the focus on enforcing the speed limit can, or will, continue for much longer.

Hoye said the ability to maintain strong enforcement is tied to the state patrol budget, which is set by the Legislature and the governor.

Like most of state government, the budget and staffing levels took abeating at the beginning of this decade and are only now bounding back.

"We're hoping to put more people on the road," Toye said.

Dan Gearino can be reached at 515-243-0138 and dan.gearino@lee.net