Higher Speed Limits Don't Cause More Deaths, Study Finds

A new study of changing speed limits in the United States finds no evidence that higher limits fuel more deaths.

Highway speed limits were initially throttled in the 1970s in response to the gas shortage. In the 1980s the focus shifted to public safety. Yet in 1995, Congress returned all speed limit authority back to the states, and many states raised their top highway speeds.

While limits ranged from 75 mph to 55 and back again, no significant increase in fatalities per mile driven are evident.

Research from Kansas State University earlier this year would seem to support Yowell's claim. Civil engineer Sunanda Dissanayake found four factors that were consistently most significant in contributing to fatalities in rural highway crashes:

• Driving under the influence
• Driving at higher than the posted speed limit
• Not using a seat belt
• Being ejected from the vehicle