Within a year of the repeal of the National Maximum Speed Limit in the United States of America in 1995, 23 states had raised their rural interstate speed limits to 70 or 75 mph. The effect on rural interstate fatalities was examined by modelling fatalities between 1992 and 1999 against the size of the new speed limit, the period before and after the speed limit change, and their interaction. Fatalities in the groups of states that raised their speed limits were 38 per cent and 35 per cent, respectively, higher than expected based on fatalities in the states that did not change their speed limits. Furthermore, the states that raised their speed limits to had a higher rural interstate fatality rate before the speed limit was changed than the other groups of states. The changes in fatalities were less than those one would predict if the speeds had changed by the amount of the speed-limit change. This could be related to already-high speeds in the limit-changing states. (Author/publisher) For the covering entry of this conference, please see ITRD abstract no. E213852.
Abstract