Published on Wednesday, January 4, 2006
in the WCJB TV 20 News

Speed Limit: Higher or Lower?

It's been called "The Bermuda Triangle" because of the number of serious accidents on I-75 near Payne's Prairie. But now some people think the speed limit should actually go up.

The debate came up recently in Southwest Florida. Sarasota County Commissioners want to reduce the number of traffic deaths on I-75. Their idea is lower the speed limit.

But some organizations say doing just the opposite may be the right idea. The idea behind several traffic engineering studies says the speed limit should be set at whatever 85 percent of people drive, and troopers say most people on I-75 are going faster than the posted 70 miles an hour, and that has them worried.

Lt. Mike Burroughs of the Florida Highway Patrol says, "That means 2 years down the road that it could be raised to 95 mph, there must be a cap on that speed limit somewhere."

In florida there is a cap. The law says the speed can't be higher than 70 miles per hour, even if an engineering study says otherwise.

A spokesperson for the Florida Department of Transportation says the only way the speed limit could go any higher is if the state passes a new law.