Highway speeds could increase under a bill that has started moving forward in the state Senate. The Republican-controlled Senate Transportation Committee on Wednesday approved a wide-ranging measure (SB 462), filed by Sen. Nick DiCeglie, R-Indian Rocks Beach, that includes boosting the maximum speed on interstates and Florida’s Turnpike from 70 mph to 75 mph.
The bill also would require the Department of Transportation to increase the maximum speed on four-lane divided highways in rural areas from 65 mph to 70 mph. Other roads with 60 mph speed limits could be raised to 65 mph where deemed “safe and advisable.” Then-Gov. Rick Scott in 2014 vetoed a similar proposal about speed limits, pointing to concerns raised by law-enforcement officers.
“Although the bill does not mandate higher speed limits, allowing for the possibility of faster driving on Florida’s roads and highways could ultimately and unacceptably increase the risk of serious accidents for Florida citizens and visitors,” Scott, now a U.S. senator, wrote in a veto message. “I strongly respect the opinion of state and local law enforcement officers who have contacted me to warn about the possible serious negative consequences should this bill become law. While the evidence suggests that increased driving speeds are not the sole cause of traffic accidents, they clearly contribute to the increased severity of vehicle crash outcomes in the form of needless injuries and deaths.”
DiCeglie’s bill would need to clear two more committees before it could go to the full Senate.
–News Service of Florida
PB says
My God some people are just dead thinkers! So raise the limit and the 50 people that passed me today doing 85-90 will go 90-95 tomorrow. 80 in Montana is ok but on I-95, my God!
John Flannery says
The reality is already that VERY FEW drivers observe the 70MPH limit on I95. I tell people that they think 95 is the speed limit, not 70. All a bill to increase to 75MPH would do is make people drive 80 to 85 as almost ALL ignore 70. Try a trip from Palm Coast to Daytona Beach and keep the 70MPH speed limit. You will be tailgated, honked or yelled at and get the finger only because you are observing the posted speeed limit. In the 15 months I took this route, I saw ONE patrol car in the median, but he just watched the cars passing him at 85 or higher. JUST DON’T MESS WITH IT, THERE IS NO LOGICAL REASON OTHER THAN TO MAKE DRIVERS DRIVE FASTER THAN THEY DO NOW. How many of you remember the 65 limit imposed on Interstate highways to save fuel? As I recall it did nothing to change driving habits. Start ENFORCING the current speed limit and fine those who speed and let the State make more money.
Joe D says
Reply to PB:
You are 100% correct. ROUTINELY as I’m driving 95 and I-4…. I am passed by multiple vehicles going 90-95+, NOW!
There is no question why Florida car insurance rates are almost DOUBLE what my prior home state rates were …and I lived in a major East Coast City!
Come on people!?!
JimboXYZ says
I figure everyone that does 75-80 mph might be 5 mph. The one’s doing 70 mph are now 75 mph. the one’s doing 90+ mph, they’re going to do that regardless. The math on 90 would be the 15 mph over the speed limit for points & fines. I don’t think the extra 5 mph will make a difference on a sign beyond what police/FHP tickets for a traffic stop anyway. The criminal stops, those folks are usually driving with a license plate, insurance lapse & speeding that would get anyone pulled over for 15+ mph. When confronted they usually run, but there are some that do pull over.
The real issue, adding 5 mph to peak commuting times, how many wrecks will there be, the road rages, because the sign may say 75 mph, but the cattle drive isn’t moving, traffic is backed up, even on I-95. A perfect example, a 50 mph posted speed limit on SR-100. At the wrong time of the day, it’s gridlock to somewhere around 20 mph school zone . And that’s where the road rage, those that are distracted/impaired & other criminal motorists that cause the accidents in a congested area.
For I-95, I set the cruise control to be 3-4 mph over the posted speed limit. I also know from the radar stations/trailers that they put on the roads (Nassau County) that my car’s speedometer indicates a faster speed than the radar trailers do. Take the new one’s in Ormond Beach on A1A. My speedometer says 30 mph, the radar station there says I’m going 28 mph. Safe & close enough accuracy for me, maybe not so much for the impatient one behind me ? I’m not eating a citation & fine for the tailgater. I have to figure a police officer’s radar has to be calibrated as well as the station/trailer they put out there on the road. Anyway I know there’s about 1 mph error per 20 mph of speed, to be slower in my car’s design/build. At or below the speed limit really, nobody should have any tickets for speeding. Give others their space & pay attention and that takes care of collisions for not being an issue.
Crisco kid says
The governor’s method of population control, just let
them die on the highways!
Joe Maga says
Its not the speed. It’s the inconsiderate people that drive in the left lane at the speed limit and refuse to keep right pass left as mandated by State Law. U can drive in left lane all you want if no one is behind you but you must yield the lane to overtaking drivers by moving right when the opportunity presents itself and it is safe to do it.
Failing that drivers get tired of the left lane hogs and start passing on the right and swerving in and out of traffic at higher speeds that very few are able to handle. My suggestion is to increase the fine to $500 and instruct every law enforcement Officer to focus on stopping these selfish road hogs.
Jay Tomm says
It’s FL! Speed limits are suggestions! LOL. Except when it’s a school zone or a 35mph road.
Read the UTC codes. You can legally go 1-4MPH over the limit with no penalty. This is because not all speedo’s are accurate.
No LEO or FHP guy I know would ticket anyone for 5 over. It’s not worth the effort when they can catch much bigger $$.
I have years & years & years of long distance FL driving through the state & can for sure tell you FHP doesn’t care 1 bit if you drive 10 over.
R.S. says
What should go along with that new speed limit is a restriction to three-lane roads only, an absolute enforcement of right lane driving only; the middle lane for passing only; and the left lane for idiots who want to commit suicide. What is a danger to all is the constant weaving in and out of lanes for high speeding traffic.
Skibum says
What could possibly go wrong?! This state already is ranked in LAST PLACE, #50 out of all 50 states for the total number of highway patrol troopers in the FHP. Come on, even Mississippi outranked FL? Even Alabama? REALLY, Tallahassee??? The gerrymandered GOP idiots up there in the state legislature are going to cause even more deaths and even more carnage on our state’s highways with their ridiculous and quite unsafe proposals. Now, having said that, I would grudgingly support the higher speed limit on rural sections of the state’s interstate highways and turnpike IF the legislature included stipulations to mandate higher traffic fines as well as increased staffing to allow adequate highway patrol troopers to be much more visible out on the roads so we could at least feel safer when we travel. But without those critical pieces, NOBODY should be foolish enough to be proposing raising speed limits on state highways!
Laurel says
The right lane is for slower traffic and entering and exiting the interstate. The middle lane is for the normal speed limit. The left lane is for passing. It is NOT the cruising lane! The slow witted put on their cruise control and stay on the left causing all sorts of mayhem. Move over!
As for traffic going faster than it does now, it will continue as is. You have a gas pedal, find it. Don’t like like it, stay in Flagler Beach with its moronic 24/7/365, around the clock school zone. I know of no other city that does that. Makes people look not too bright.
Also, stop moving down here and changing everything. My favorite bumper sticker is “When I retire I’m going to move to New York and drive really slow.”
Pay attention to the road laws.
Jane Gentile-Youd says
Oh dear GOD no! Everyone already drives 85-95 now! Add texting, and drinking don’t forget…
Laurel says
I don’t ride, or like, motorcycles, but I would bet that the motorcyclist on A1A in Flagler Beach would still be alive if the speed wasn’t 25 mph. My guess is that it is really difficult to drive a motorcycle 20 to 25 mph for a long stretch. It’s not just impatience, it’s just that some people are faster than others, and super slow is downright painful. People get bored and react. You’re only as strong as the weakest chain, and a caravan of multiple cars is the result of one car everyone caught up with, and now, we’re all bored, and frustrated.
I remember years ago, I would play air hockey with a guy, and we were both so good, and so fast, that we would get a crowd watching. Then, one day, my rival figured out that if he hit the puck really slow, I would miss it. I would watch it slowly zig-zag down the table right into the goal!
Moral of the story: If you are uncomfortable with interstates, take a different road. Get the hell out of the left lane, and let others go. Not everyone is the same, and stop trying to conform them.
Laurel says
…weakest link…