According
to a recent study
by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), higher speed limits have
caused 33,000 deaths nationwide since 1995.
The study found that each 5 mph increase in the maximum speed limit
resulted in a 4% increase in fatalities.
States began increasing their maximum speed limits after the Emergency
Highway Energy Conservation Act was repealed in 1995.
The act was
signed by President Nixon in 1974 in response to the Organization for Petroleum
Exporting Countries' embargo against the United States, which caused oil prices
to quadruple. The law set all national
highway speed limits at 55 mph (they previously ranged from 40 mph to 80 mph)
and penalized states that did not comply with the new speed limit by
withholding federal funds. The law was
intended to force Americans to drive at a more fuel-efficient speed, but it
also decreased the number of automobile-related fatalities.
The IIHS
study found that travel speeds increased after the act was repealed. Researchers found that fatalities increased
on rural interstates when the law was partially repealed in 1987, then on all
interstates after it was repealed in its entirety. Today, every state has a maximum speed limit
over 55 mph. Six states have 80 mph
limits, and drivers in Texas can drive 85 mph on certain roads.
