The Nation : No Speed Limit, Death Rate Link Seen

Raising the speed limit to 65 m.p.h. on some rural stretches of interstate highway has had no effect on the traffic death rate, Transportation Secretary James H. Burnley IV said. Congress last year passed a law allowing states to increase lawful driving speeds to 65 m.p.h. on rural portions of interstate highways, covering about three-fourths of the 43,000-mile interstate system, and on about 7,000 miles of non-interstate highways. Critics had warned the higher speeds would mean higher traffic fatality rates. Burnley, following a speech in Washington to the Society of Automotive Engineers, said aggressive enforcement of the higher speed limit was important to holding down fatalities. A Transportation Department spokesman said the fatality statistics “are all over the board,” with deaths rising in some states and falling in others on 65 m.p.h. stretches of highway.