Should we drive 65?
You don’t have to be Sammy Hagar to chafe at going the legal speed limit on duller sections of the Northway and Thruway. So, yes, we understand the impetus behind a bill proposed by Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara that would raise the speed limit to 70 mph on some New York highways.
Speed limits higher than New York’s 65 mph are common in most other states, argues the Democrat from Rotterdam. So why shouldn’t drivers here also be permitted to save a little time?
While the idea has merit, there would be consequences. Consider that a recent study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety estimates that highway speed limit increases in states around the country led to 37,000 additional crash deaths over 25 years. Meanwhile, U.S. traffic fatalities hit a 16-year high in 2021, although they seem to have edged downward last year.
Is this really the time, then, to be raising speed limits? Keep in mind that traveling five mph faster for 100 miles cuts fewer than seven minutes off the trip. And that’s if you don’t hit traffic.
Mr. Santabarbara notes that even if his bill passes, the Thruway Authority and the state Department of Transportation would have the final say on roadway speeds and where increases might be appropriate.
He also argues that a higher speed limit is warranted because “our roads are engineered a little different now, cars are a lot different” and “technology’s changed.” Alas, those justifications make little sense. The Northway and Thruway are largely the same roads they’ve been since 1995, when New York last increased its maximum speed limit. And while some vehicles do have new safety features, many drivers continue to drive older models.
Meanwhile, trucks and SUVS have grown much larger in recent years, increasing the deadliness of crashes for those in smaller vehicles or on motorcycles. Higher speeds also decrease fuel efficiency and increase risks to wildlife.
Perhaps our biggest concern, though, is that drivers will take increased highway speeds as a cue to drive faster on local roads. In a time of spiking pedestrian and cycling deaths, faster local traffic is the last thing New York needs, and such a trend would undermine efforts in Albany and other cities to curb hurrying drivers with speed humps and lower speed limits.
Slower traffic on local roads dramatically reduces vehicle, bicycle and pedestrian casualties while significantly improving the ability of residents to enjoy their neighborhoods. After decades when traffic speed and efficiency were prioritized over quality-of-life factors, including the ability of children to play outside or bike to school, more such efforts are badly needed across the Capital Region — and we’d be happier with Mr. Santabarbara’s bill if it were coupled with measures that encouraged safety on local roads.
There’s likely a balance to be struck, though, one that European countries have managed: faster highway speeds combined with calmer traffic on roads shared with those on foot or bikes. That might satisfy the Sammy Hagar within all of us, while restoring roadway sanity to our cities and towns.