Interstate speed limit could increase to 75 mph for passenger vehicles

Staff/wire report

COLUMBUS

Two years after the speed limit increased to 70 mph on some sections of roadway, Ohio lawmakers are considering letting motorists go even faster.

The state transportation budget bill now includes a provision to increase the speed limit to 75 mph on 570 miles of Ohio highways and the Ohio Turnpike.

Ohio’s interstate speed limit would increase to 75 mph for passenger vehicles, under an amendment being added by the state Senate to the biennial transportation budget.

The language was among provisions accepted for discussion Monday by the Transportation, Commerce and Labor Committee, which is considering the $7 billion-plus, two-year spending plan for the Ohio Department of Transportation and several other agencies.

Senate Transportation Chairwoman Gayle Manning said Monday an earlier decision to raise Ohio’s statewide limit to 70 mph has resulted in virtually no negative impacts. She said accident rates on rural roads have fallen and traffic is flowing more smoothly.

The legislation is the first of several biennial budget bills and is separate from the larger two-year spending plan covering most of the rest of state government.

State Sen. Tom Patton, R-Strongsville, who sponsored the speed-limit amendment, said it would apply to three-lane highways away from congested areas. “There is just a lot of area where you’re driving open areas with no exit ramps,” he said.

Among other amendments considered Monday, senators offered language to boost the speed limit on rural freeways and the Ohio Turnpike to 75 mph from 70 mph for vehicles weighing up to 8,000 pounds.

Lawmakers raised the speed limits on the state’s interstate highway system two years ago as part of the last biennial budget, moving to 70 mph from 65 mph.

But Kara Macek, spokeswoman for the Governors Highway Safety Association, said, “Speeding is a huge, huge problem. States should focus on enforcing the speed limits they have rather than increasing the speed limits.”

According to Macek, one-third of traffic fatalities are tied to excessive speed.

Ric Oxender, lobbyist for AAA Clubs in Ohio, said driving faster increases stopping distance and the impact of collisions and lowers maneuverability. “Any time you increase the speed, you increase the danger for motorists,” he said.

Environmental groups generally oppose higher speed limits because going faster consumes more gasoline. “When speed limits rise, so does energy use and air pollution. So lawmakers who vote to jack up speed limits should not complain if their metro area fails to meet minimum clean-air standards,” said Jack Shaner, lobbyist for the Ohio Environmental Council.

The Consumer Energy Center said gas mileage usually decreases rapidly at speeds above 55 mph and slowing down from 65 mph to 55 mph can improve gas mileage by as much as 15 percent.

The Senate panel reviewed more than 40 changes to the transportation budget Monday but did not move the bill for a floor vote. The committee could make additional changes before giving its final approval, likely Wednesday.

Another amendment added Monday would prohibit drivers from being in the left lane on three-lane highways unless they are passing slower vehicles or exiting.

Among other provisions, the transportation budget calls for increased education requirements for driving-school operators, nearly $1 million over the coming biennium for the Ohio Department of Public Safety to purchase additional portable driving simulators and a move to require Bureaus of Motor Vehicles to accept credit or debit cards beginning in mid-2016.

The budget also now includes language that would allow eligible Ohioans to have their U.S. citizenship listed on their driver’s license.