AAA Minnesota/Iowa Supports Increasing Iowa's Interstate Speed Limit to 70 mph

Guest Editorial by: Jeff Ogden, president of AAA Minnesota/Iowa

BURNSVILLE, Minn., Feb. 16 -- As president of AAA Minnesota/Iowa, my staff and I advocate for legislative and safety issues on behalf of our 300,000 members in Iowa. These issues have included reducing the legal blood alcohol limit, increasing restrictions on child passenger safety, and now increasing the interstate speed limit. Some people may believe the speed limit increase to be inconsistent with other traffic safety issues, but in fact it is not.

In Iowa, the current law restricts the speed limit on the interstate road system to 65 mph. More than half of all states, including four of Iowa's neighboring states (Missouri, Minnesota, South Dakota and Nebraska), have interstate speed limits of 70 mph or higher.

AAA Minnesota/Iowa believes travel efficiency along the state's two primary interstates, Interstate 35 and Interstate 80, could be improved if the speed limit for passenger vehicles was increased to 70 mph outside the limits of any urbanized area with a population greater than 50,000.

Important facts obtained from the National Center for Policy Analysis and Iowa Highway Safety Management System:

  -- Before the speed limit in Iowa increased to 65 mph an average of 71
     percent of the motoring public were exceeding the speed limit. After
     increasing the speed limit, that number fell significantly to 31.2
     percent. National data shows that the closer the posted speed is to the
     speed motorists deem "reasonable", the more likely they are to abide by
     the speed limit.
  -- The "85th percentile" is a common statistic used by traffic engineers
     to study travel speeds. The "85th percentile" is the speed 85 percent
     of motorists drive and is considered to be a reasonable and safe speed.
     In Iowa, the speed that coincides with the "85th percentile" is 70 mph,
     which represents the natural flow of traffic, regardless of posted
     limits.
  -- By increasing the speed limit to 70 mph, it will actually reduce the
     speed differentials between passenger vehicles. This reduction in speed
     differentials will greatly improve the efficiency and safety of
     interstate roads.

Some people will contend that speed kills, but in fact traffic fatalities have decreased if you take into consideration the increased number of vehicles on the road and the increased vehicle miles traveled. Additionally, interstate construction improvements, reduction in adverse crash locations and proper roadway lengths allow for greater speeds than were safe in the past. To pass this piece of legislation, we need you to contact your legislators and urge them to vote in favor of increasing the interstate speed limit in Iowa to 70 mph.

Jeff Ogden is the president of AAA Minnesota/Iowa, which includes more than 720,000 members, and offers automotive, travel, insurance and financial services.