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Lawmaker wants higher Ohio interstate speed limit

CINCINNATI  — A state lawmaker wants to raise the speed limit on Ohio's interstate highways from 65 mph to 70 mph to be consistent with the speed limit on the Ohio Turnpike and in neighboring states.

A 2009 effort by other lawmakers to raise the limit failed, but state Rep. Ron Maag says the Ohio Turnpike has since raised its limit to 70 mph, which Kentucky, Indiana and West Virginia also have done, The Cincinnati Enquirer (http://cin.ci/zV7QQU ) reported Thursday.

"It's just important to be consistent," said the Republican lawmaker from southwest Ohio.

The Ohio Turnpike Commission voted in April to increase the limit for all vehicles on the turnpike, which is independently run and crosses northern Ohio, mostly as I-80.

Lt. Anne Ralston, a State Highway Patrol spokeswoman, said the patrol has concerns with raising the speed limit "because it diminishes traffic safety" and it would like to complete a year's study on the matter.

But Maag said the interstate system is designed to handle traffic at higher speeds and vehicle safety has improved.

"Cars are better, tires are better and brakes are better," he said.

The patrol compared turnpike crash data from April through November 2011 to 2010, with the comparison showing the number of crashes increased by 38.6 percent and injuries by 26 percent, the newspaper reported.

The Ohio Turnpike Commission has reported that there were six fatalities last year on the turnpike, compared with seven in 2010.

Russ Rader, a spokesman with the Virginia-based Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, argues that vehicles and their restraint systems are less effective in high-speed crashes. He says increasing the speed limit gets people to their destination faster, but "there's always a cost."

"More people will be killed in accidents because of the change," he said.

Rader also said studies show that drivers usually travel five to 10 mph faster than the speed limit, choosing a speed where they are unlikely to get a ticket.

Most people drive 70 mph, and "it just makes common sense" to increase the limit, Maag said Thursday. He said cities would be able to request a lower limit for sections of interstates within their boundaries.

No cost analysis has been done, and Maag's bill has not been assigned to a committee. Still, he is hopeful.

"I think there's a lot of support for it," he said.

Thirty-five states have speed limits at 70 mph or higher on some portion, according to the Enquirer.

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