Automotive Orgs Battle Over 70 MPH Bill

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Apr 13, 2010 2:20PM

A bill in the state legislature to raise the speed limit on highways outside of Chicago from 65 mph to 70 mph has hit a pothole in the form of two automotive organizations tussling over the bill. Not that raising the speed limit to 70 mph would be out of the ordinary; 33 states already have that speed limit in place. According to Diana Novak at The Expired Meter, AAA, which has almost a million members in the greater Chicagoland area, is against the new bill, saying state roads were built for a maximum speed of 70 mph but that the intended speed limit should be lower. Meanwhile, the NMA, which has a much, much, much smaller representation in the area (a few hundred), supports the bill, citing the 85th percentile method.

“We haven’t seen recent traffic engineering studies from the Illinois Dept. of Transportation that would provide enough requisite data to make that determination,” says NMA’s Executive Director Gary Biller. “Our promotion of a 70 mph limit outside of Chicago per SB 3668 is based on the fact that Illinois highways and interstates are similar in design and topography to roads in other states that have successfully (i.e., safely) implemented 70, 75 and even 80 mph speed limits.”

State Sen. Dale E. Risinger (R-Galesburg) supports the bill and makes a somewhat unique claim about how raising the speed limit will help state police - who are facing a round of cuts - and won't adversely affect driver safety: "We are actually helping the police, because less people will be breaking the law [if the raise is implemented]...These are the safest roads in the world. This is the Prairie State—long, flat roads where you can what’s coming for miles.” We're not saying raising the speed limit - especially by such a small increment - is wrong, we just have issue with Risinger's logic. Sure, there may be fewer folks breaking the law (assuming the people who are already speeding don't decide to just drive faster with the new limit) but that's also less ticket revenue for the state. And no amount of straight, flat roads can make up for what idiots people can be once they get behind the wheel.

The Expired Meter has a full breakdown of the arguments between the two sides.