Introduced Version, House Bill 1393 passed the House Roads & Transportation Committee 6-4. It raises the speed limit on the Indiana Toll Road from 65 to 70. The South Bend Tribune has a story. Insurance industry says it will lead to more wrecks. Rep. Stutzman responds creatively that a higher speed limit will be safer:
Stutzman said truckers are avoiding costly tolls by using U.S. 6 and U.S. 20, which lack the design standards to carry them as safely as the Toll Road. Higher speeds on the Toll Road might be an incentive to get them off other highways “and onto the Toll Road where they belong.”
There is also the tried and true: “higher limits would match the speed at which most Hoosier motorists drive.” “People drive at the speed they feel comfortable,” Rep. David Wolkins, R-Winona Lake, said.
I don’t think higher speeds will make us any safer. I don’t happen to think they will make us significantly less safe. I hope higher speed limits pass for all rural Interstates. I don’t think singling out the Indiana Toll Road makes a lot of sense.
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