Higher speeds are associated with an increase in death rates on highways. In a study of fatalities in states where speed limits were raised to 70 or 75 mph during 1995-1996, the increase was shown to be responsible for about a 35 percent increase in death rates. Studies have also shown that as speed limits go up on rural and urban interstates, drivers continue to exceed limits. For instance, after speed limits were increased to 75 mph on rural interstates in Colorado, one in every four vehicles traveled faster than 80 mph. Contributing to this problem is the trend in auto manufacturing to make more and more powerful cars and the trend in car advertising to play up vehicles' speed and power. The article notes that while attitudes toward drunk driving and driving without seatbelts have changed, there still exists a general tolerance of speeding, both domestic as well as international.
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