Highway Deaths Way Up Where Speed Limits Hiked, Indiana Paper Reports

Traffic fatalities on Indiana’s six main interstates have climbed 40 percent in the year since the General Assembly voted to increase the speed limit to 70 mph, according to a newspaper analysis.

Despite the increase along roads with the higher speed limit, the number of people who died on all Indiana roads decreased slightly, The Indianapolis Star reported Sunday.

State police also issued 10 percent more speeding tickets along those 70 mph sections of highway, the analysis found.

“Tickets are way up because troopers are being more aggressive,” said Gov. Mitch Daniels, who supported the increased speed limit and called the state’s roads safer because of the decline in overall deaths. “On a macro level, our roads are safer than they were before.”

But critics of the change see the increased number of interstate deaths as confirmation that the 70-mph limit encourages people to speed.

“Those of us who opposed higher speed limits thought that people would drive faster,” said State Sen. Timothy S. Lanane, D-Anderson. “Now, people who used to go 70 or 75 are going 75 or 80. And, frankly, that worries me.”

When the law went into effect, Indiana became the 30th state to increase interstate speeds to at least 70 mph.

But police say it’s too early to determine how the new speed laws have affected highway safety, because winter storms, road construction and traffic volume can cause fluctuations in the data.

Officials must study several years of data to determine what lasting impact the 70 mph limits have had, said 1st Sgt. David Bursten, a state police spokesman.

The changes, which went into effect July 1, 2005, raised the maximum interstate speed limit for cars from 65 mph to 70 mph. Truck limits rose from 60 mph to 65 mph. Limits on state highways also increased to 60 mph in some areas.

The data analyzed by The Star showed the total deaths on Indiana’s six main interstates rose to 91 from 65 in past year. Statewide, the total number of deaths declined from 897 to 836.

The number of crashes also dropped from 209,500 to 177,800.

Authorities tallied 45,700 tickets in all 70 mph zones in 2005, up from about 41,000 citations on those stretches of road in 2004, before the speed limit was raised.

The Star examined crash data for I-64, I-65, I-69, I-70, I-74, I-80/90. Two other Interstates _ I-94 and I-164 _ have relatively short stretches where limits are 70 mph and were not included in the newspaper’s analysis.

Crash statistics include all other stretches of interstate, regardless of speed limit, but speeding ticket information is specific to zones with 70 mph limits.

The 70 mph limit affects stretches of road engineered for higher speeds and in sparsely populated areas.

Steve Williams, president of the Insurance Institute of Indiana, said he was encouraged by the overall drop in crashes, but doubts faster speed limits have improved road safety.

“With the speed limit being higher, most people feel like they have a comfort zone to go more than the speed limit,” Williams said.

Merle Sanders, a 56-year-old scrap yard operator from Belleville, said motorists, not speed limits, are to blame for accidents and highway fatalities.

“People are going to go as fast as they’re going to go anyway,” he said.

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