70 mph bill races out of committee
By JR Hoeft | Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010 | PolicyHB856 and SB537 have zoomed out of committee and are now motoring towards a floor vote. These bills are a proposal by Gov. Bob McDonnell to raise the interstate speed limit on some stretches to 70 mph.
Sammy’s happy:
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JR Hoeft
Conservative to the core; liberal with his opinion! J.R. has been involved in politics for over a decade and has worked on several campaigns in Hampton Roads. He has served on the Executive Committee of the Republican Party of Chesapeake and the Central Committee of the Republican Party of Virginia. He is also the director of “Blogs United” in Virginia. E-mail J.R.. Follow J.R. on Twitter.
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8 Responses to "70 mph bill races out of committee"
I don’t really have an objection to this because I already drive faster than that on the Interstate. But what is the case for it? Obvioulsy, those opposed will say it will kill a few more people a year and waste fuel. What are the benefits?
It just passed the House today – hooray! Wonder if the Senate will be so kind… ?
By the way, it was the Governor’s bill. Here’s his justification: “32 states already have 70mph speed limits, and 13 allow motorists to drive 75mph. This slight increase in our speed limit will be safe for motorists and help get Virginians to their destinations a little quicker each day. This is an important early step towards our common goal of improving transportation in the Commonwealth.”
Well, again, I don’t really care but if 32 other states jumped off the Empire State Building would we jump off too?
I am a truck driver who will benefit, it will allow the speed limit to come closer to the speed I attempt to get to when gravity pulls me into even higher speeds and allows me to coast for longer distances without putting fuel to my engine. With my higher fuel economy, everyone wins. More money in my pocket, less CO2 emissions and less reliance on foreign crude oil sources.
With that said, I am wondering if this is going to glide through why McDonnell can’t get down to work solving our real transportation problems? Seems to me that when I am stuck in traffic in congested areas I can not even do the existing speed limit. Congested traffic increases my expenses by decreasing my fuel economy. It also increases our nations CO2 emissions and increases our dependence on foreign oil.
McDonnell supposedly had this great transportation plan. OK, let’s see it. Creigh Deeds was the guy saying it would be difficult and McDonnell was they guy saying he had the easy pay plan. OK, let us see him deliver the miracles. I am not expecting anything other then what he promised.
And how long after the bill passes until the auto insurance premiums rise in Virginia? Driving 70 mph is less safe than driving 65, no matter how you spin it. Insurance companies know this and adjust rates accordingly.
90% are already driving 70 mph. 55 has always been an artificial standard that generated a lot of income for government, attorneys and insurance companies. Bravo, Bob!!! Reality, at last.
If we expand the speed limit, don’t we need to fix this:
§ 46.2-862 of the Code of Virginia.
Exceeding speed limit – A person shall be guilty of reckless driving who drives a motor vehicle on the highways in the Commonwealth (i) at a speed of twenty miles per hour or more in excess of the applicable maximum speed limit where the applicable speed limit is thirty miles per hour or less, (ii) at a speed of sixty miles per hour or more where the applicable maximum speed limit is thirty-five miles per hour, (iii) at a speed of twenty miles per hour or more in excess of the applicable maximum speed limits where the applicable maximum speed limit is forty miles per hour or more, or (iv) in excess of eighty miles per hour regardless of the applicable maximum speed limit).
Under iv above you could get a reckless driving ticket for driving 10 miles over the new 70 mph limit. I guess that would produce some revenue for the state if all the speeding tickets on the Interstates become reckless driving tickets.
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