Bill to boost Va. speed limit to 70 mph on to House

RICHMOND

One  piece of Gov. Bob McDonnell’s legislative program is advancing through the General Assembly – one that will appeal to motorists who are in a hurry.

The statewide 70 mph speed limit on interstate highways was approved today by the full House Transportation Committee, 13-8, and now advances to the House floor.

“Speed limits should be posted at the prevailing speed of traffic,” said Joseph Bahen, a representative of the National Motorists Association, who spoke in favor of the bill.

The subcommittee heard opposition  from the insurance industry and the Sierra Club. Opponents said the bill would make the roads less safe, increase fuel consumption, and require  spending for signs and associated road improvements. A 5 mph increase in  speed in a collision results in an exponential increase in the kinetic energy released, warned Chris LaGow, an insurance lobbyist.

“You can change the speed limit law, but you can’t change the laws of physics,” he said. “You’re going to get much more severe impacts.”

A 1999 study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that higher speed limits enacted by 24 states in the mid-1990s resulted in 15 percent more traffic fatalities.

Tyler Madison, a member of the Sierra Club, said 55  is the optimum speed for fuel efficiency, which drops by 10 to 15 percent with a 10 mph increase in speed over that.

She said a higher limit will increase the nation’s dependence on foreign oil.

One Virginia highway already carries a 70 mph speed limit – Interstate 85 between  Petersburg and the North Carolina line. The I-85 limit was raised Oct. 1, 2007. Virginia Department of Transportation engineers say it is too early to make a statistically valid comparison of crashes and fatalities before and after the change.

Republican Del. Charles Carrico, a former state trooper from Galax, introduced the bill at the governor’s request.

Carrico’s legislation authorizes a statewide 70 mph limit on interstates; other multilane, divided, limited-access highways, such as U.S. 460; and high-occupancy vehicle lanes if they are physically separated from regular travel lanes.

It doesn’t specify particular stretches of road, and any speed increases would be subject to traffic engineering studies and analysis of accident data.

Sen. Stephen Newman, R-Lynchburg, is sponsoring an identical bill in the Senate, also at McDonnell’s request.

Stacey Johnson, the governor’s press secretary, called the measure “a common-sense step to get traffic moving faster in the commonwealth.”

Johnson disputed the idea that higher speeds mean more accidents.

“If speed limits reflect real travel speeds, traffic will flow more uniformly, thus making the roads safer,” she said by e-mail. “In addition, cars are being built stronger with more secure structure and advanced air bag and safety systems.”

Johnson  rejected a suggestion from LaGow, the insurance lobbyist, that McDonnell’s interest in a higher speed limit is driven by a desire for more gas-tax revenue flowing from higher fuel consumption.

The bill’s House sponsor, Carrico, last year helped  defeat a proposal to enact a 70 mph speed limit on portions of Interstates 95 and 295.

Asked what caused his change of heart, Carrico said he prefers the consistency of a uniform statewide limit.

“You can get killed in a 30 mile-an-hour crash,” he said. “People are going 70 anyway – let’s be brutally honest.”

Bill Sizemore, (804) 697-1560, bill.sizemore@pilotonline.com