A very small step in the right
direction.

http://www.indystar.com/articles/1/221474-2711-009.html

Note who opposed the bill. What bull****.

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70 mph limit zips out of Senate
Indiana House leaders say bill to allow faster speed on interstates has
good chance of becoming law.

The road ahead

Senate Bill 217, which would raise the speed limit on parts of some
Indiana interstates to 70 mph, has passed the Senate. Here's what's next:
• The bill likely will be assigned to the House Roads and Transportation
Committee, which will decide whether to recommend it for a full House vote.
• If the House approves the legislation, it would be sent to Gov. Mitch
Daniels, who has pledged to sign it. Change would take effect July 1.



By Theodore Kim

February 11, 2005


The Indiana Senate on Thursday approved legislation to raise the speed
limit on rural interstates to 70 mph, and a key House leader said the
bill has a firm chance of becoming law.

Though the Senate has thwarted similar efforts in the past, the bill
passed this time on a 34-15 vote; 26 votes were needed.

That approval came over the objections of the insurance industry and
some lawmakers who argued the higher limit would compromise driver
safety, boost car insurance premiums and encourage motorists to exceed
even the higher speed.

Sen. Gregory D. Server, R-Evansville, the bill's chief sponsor, said the
higher limit would bring the law closer to the actual speeds at which
motorists are driving.

"We're just trying to be realistic," Server said after the vote. "Our
highways and cars are designed for this type of speed. People are
driving at this speed now."

Server's legislation, Senate Bill 217, would increase the speed limit
along stretches of interstate in sparsely populated areas of Indiana to
70 mph from 65 mph. The speed limit for trucks on those same stretches
would rise to 65 mph from 60 mph. If approved, the change would take
effect July 1.

Interstate speed limits would not change in denser communities of more
than 50,000 people, such as the Indianapolis area. Rather, the bill
targets interstates in open rural areas -- for instance, parts of I-65
between Indianapolis and Chicago -- designed to handle elevated speeds.

The legislation would make Indiana the 30th state since 1995 to boost
interstate speed limits to at least 70 mph, according to federal
statistics. In 1995, Congress moved to abolish the federal speed limit
of 55 mph, a conservation measure enacted during the 1970s' energy crisis.

Server's proposal now advances to the House, where Speaker Brian Bosma,
R-Indianapolis, said he supports the legislation.

Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels also has pledged to sign the bill should
it reach his desk.

Indiana last raised its interstate speed limit in 1987, from 55 mph to
65 mph, after Congress exempted rural stretches of interstate from the
federal limit.

Insurance companies and highway safety advocates are expected to
continue to strenuously oppose the measure in the House. Those critics
point to an array of evidence showing that higher interstate speed
limits can lead to more fatalities.

Fatal interstate accidents in states that have raised speed limits from
65 mph to at least 70 mph rose by an average of 15 percent, according to
the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, an advocacy group based in
Arlington, Va. The group is funded by auto insurers.

"If the goal is for everyone to go the speed limit, why not just set it
at 120 mph?" asked Robert J. Spolyar, a lobbyist for State Farm
Insurance. "This was a foolish vote by the Senate. Hundreds of Hoosiers
have been killed on our highways. It's going to be more now."

Advocates of the higher limit counter with their own data suggesting
that the vast majority of motorists on rural stretches of interstate
feel most comfortable while driving about 70 mph. They also dispute the
notion that higher speed limits would raise insurance costs or diminish
motorists' safety.

Some lawmakers argued that driving at or below the speed limit is no
longer prudent.

"I cannot recall the last time going under 70 mph," said Rose Ann
Antich-Carr, D-Merrillville, a co-sponsor of the bill. "If you did,
you'd be rear-ended."

But others said the higher limit will surely entice motorists to drive
even faster than they do now.

When New Mexico raised its speed limit on some interstate stretches from
70 mph to 75 mph in 1996, the share of drivers topping the limit rose
from 29 percent to more than half, according to the Insurance Institute.

"People drive 70 mph right now with impunity," said Sen. Timothy Lanane,
D-Anderson, who opposed the bill. "People will now drive 75 to 80 mph."

Star reporter Michele McNeil contributed to this story.