Dear Mahatma: So, when will the interstate speed limit increase to 75 mph? -- Richard in Conway
Dear Richard: Perhaps you read something in the newspaper about Act 1097 of 2017, An Act to Amend the Law Concerning Speed Limits; and Other Purposes. The governor, Asa Hutchinson, let the bill become law without his signature. We think the governor's inaction -- neither signature nor veto -- means he wasn't for it or against it. He was, duh, neutral. More about actual opinions at the bottom.
On the basis of our reading of the law, and hoping everyone remembers our law degree came from the Internet, the most important part is this: "Upon an engineering and traffic investigation, the State Highway Commission may increase the speed limit of a controlled-access highway to 75 miles per hour."
And of that sentence, the key word is may.
Danny Straessle, who speaks for the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department, was asked about Act 1097. He didn't share the agency's opinion but did share a map from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The map describes maximum speed limits across the country.
Most states north and east of Arkansas have a rural interstate speed limit of 70 mph or lower. Exceptions are Louisiana and Maine, which have a limit of 75 mph. Some heavily populated states in the Northeast have a speed limit of 65. On the low end, Hawaii has an interstate speed limit of 60.
California and Oregon, like Arkansas, are at 70 mph maximum. Otherwise, states to the west of Arkansas are at 75 mph or 80 mph.
Texas, bless its independent heart, has a maximum speed limit of 85 -- in one wide-open stretch. The Mahatma actually drove on that 85-mph route, 41 miles roughly between Austin and San Antonio. Texas 130 is a toll road, of which Arkansas has none.
We recall cheating a bit, and driving 88. And watching folks go by. Really, the whole thing was a blast, but the idea of driving that fast on anything but a highway with hardly anyone on it is scary.
A few years further back, we were passengers in a big BMW on Germany's autobahn. The car's speed was measured in kilometers. The driver said we were moving along at about 100 mph. And being passed, including by a motorcyclist.
Speed is one factor in highway fatalities, which are rising in the United States after a gradual but steady decline. Another factor is that more people are driving more miles. Another is the distraction caused by cellphones. Another factor is alcohol.
The Arkansas State Police tracks traffic deaths in the state. The agency's preliminary fatal crash summaries are on its website. Fatalities in 2015 were 513; in 2016, 550. Through April of 2016, fatalities were 151; this year through April, 156.
Now, please, reader opinions: An increase in our state's speed limit on rural interstates to 75 -- good idea or bad?
Vanity plate seen on a Dodge pickup: BYANOSE
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Metro on 05/13/2017