Is the American Autobahn next? How states are pushing highway speeds past the limit

Chris Woodyard
Updated

After years of seeing posted highway speeds creep up around the country, perhaps it's no surprise that a California legislator would propose the ultimate in motoring freedom: no limits at all.

State Sen. John Moorlach's vision for a Golden State version of Germany's famed Autobahn — a stretch of pavement where you can drive as fast you want — is just the latest in a series of moves by states to put the pedal to the metal when it comes to speed limits.

It's happening even as safety experts try to throw on the brakes on speeds that have now reached legal levels they view as somewhere between risky and downright dangerous.

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"We have routinely seen studies that show when states raise speed limits, they can expect higher deaths," said Maureen Vogel, spokeswoman for the National Safety Council.

Seven states — Idaho, Montana, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and Wyoming — have allowed 80 mph speed limits on select highways. One, Texas, has 85 mph on a section of State Highway 130. Legislatures have upped limits as cars have become safer and more powerful and the price of gas has tumbled, lowering concerns about the poor fuel mileage that high-speed driving can bring.

Yet the resulting higher speeds haven't made much of a statistical dent in highway deaths, the Governors Highway Safety Association reports.

In 2017, there were 9,717 speed-related deaths from among 37,133 total road fatalities. Those speed-related deaths were down 574 from 2016, were about the same as in 2015 and up 434 from 2014.

12/23/12 3:08:36 PM -- Mustang Ridge, TX, U.S.A -- A section of southbound Texas Highway 130 between Mustang Ridge and Lockhart, Texas. It's the fastest stretch of road in the USA: a 41-mile stretch of Highway 130 in central Texas connecting Austin to San Antonio that recently raised its speed limit to 85 mph, the highest in the country. Texas transportation officials say the newly-expanded and refurbished toll road is wide, flat and safe for such speeds. Highway safety advocates say raising the limit to 85 mph sets a dangerous precedent that other states could follow. Just three weeks after opening, the highway witnessed its first traffic fatality, bolstering the safety advocates? argument. Highway police are still investigating to determine if speed played a role in the crash that killed a Beaumont woman. Besides the controversial speed limit, Highway 130 is the state?s first ever public-private highway venture. Revenue from the toll road will be split between Texas and the SH 130 Concession Company, which expanded the road, and Texas received $25 million from the company for raising the speed limit. Higher speed limits act as an incentive for drivers to use the road. More states could be seeing this type of public-private partnership on infrastructure projects, highway safety experts say, as less money arrives from Washington. -- Photo by Erich Schlegel, Freelance ORG XMIT: ES 42827 Texas super high 12/18/ [Via MerlinFTP Drop]

In California, Moorlach doesn't think safety will be a showstopper when it comes to his no-speed-limit plan. He said crash concerns haven't dampened enthusiasm for the German Autobahn, a haven for speedsters for decades. In announcing his plan, he pointed to a World Health Organization report that estimates road traffic deaths at 4.1 per 100,000 people in Germany compared with 12.4 in the U.S.

His bill would add four lanes to two highways, Interstate 5 and California State Route 99, for drivers who want the convenience of going without a speed limit.

The lanes would be in place of finishing the first leg of California's high-speed rail line, derided as the "train to nowhere" by critics because the first leg wouldn't connect to either Los Angeles or San Francisco, the whole point of the line as originally envisioned.

Making matters worse, the Trump administration announced last week that it would cancel $929 million in funding needed to complete the first segment of rail.

12/18/12 12:44:25 PM -- Mustang Ridge, TX, U.S.A -- Mustang Ridge Police Department Sgt. John Bennett checks speeds of vehicles on Highway 130 south of Austin, Texas. It's the fastest stretch of road in the USA: a 41-mile stretch of Highway 130 in central Texas connecting Austin to San Antonio that recently raised its speed limit to 85 mph, the highest in the country. Texas transportation officials say the newly-expanded and refurbished toll road is wide, flat and safe for such speeds. Highway safety advocates say raising the limit to 85 mph sets a dangerous precedent that other states could follow. Just three weeks after opening, the highway witnessed its first traffic fatality, bolstering the safety advocates? argument. Highway police are still investigating to determine if speed played a role in the crash that killed a Beaumont woman. Besides the controversial speed limit, Highway 130 is the state?s first ever public-private highway venture. Revenue from the toll road will be split between Texas and the SH 130 Concession Company, which expanded the road, and Texas received $25 million from the company for raising the speed limit. Higher speed limits act as an incentive for drivers to use the road. More states could be seeing this type of public-private partnership on infrastructure projects, highway safety experts say, as less money arrives from Washington. -- Photo by Erich Schlegel, Freelance ORG XMIT: ES 42827 Texas super high 12/18/ [Via MerlinFTP Drop]

After California Gov. Gavin Newsom said this month that building the entire bullet train line would be too expensive and take too long, Moorlach said a brainstorming session resulted in the American Autobahn idea. Adding lanes would be expensive, but it is "still a whole lot cheaper than $77 billion," the latest estimated cost of the rail project.

It may be cheaper, but it won't be safer, experts complain.

Higher speeds not only can increase the frequency of crashes, but the severity as well since vehicles smash into each other at higher combined speeds.

More: 'Probably safer': What it was like when states had no speed limits

"You can change speed limits, but you can't change physics," Vogel said.

A study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that the lives of 33,000 motorists and their passengers would have been saved if there had been no speed limit increases between 1993, when states posted highways at either 55 mph or 65 mph, and 2013.

Opinion: California bullet train setback shouldn't be end of the line

More: Trump tweets about California's plans for high-speed rail. Gov. Newsom responds: 'Fake news'

Another IIHS study that looked only at the effect of raising the speed limit to 80 mph in Utah estimated that an increase in traffic speed of only 3 mph, to 78 mph, increased the chance of fatalities by 17 percent.

The other problem is that even with higher limits, people tend to drive faster than they should.

Having gone on trips to Utah and Nevada, where other motorists sometimes whiz by at 90 mph, Chuck Farmer, vice president of research for IIHS, said, "Personally, I find it very uncomfortable."

"When higher speed signs go up, not only is traffic moving faster but some motorists immediately start exceeding the new posted limit," said Jonathan Adkins, executive director of the Governors Highway Safety Association. The effect is a "double whammy" on the average speed of traffic.

He calls speeding "the forgotten issue" in traffic safety. It's ignored because so many drivers push the limits.

"We all do it," Adkins said. "There's no social stigma attached to it."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Is the American Autobahn next? How states are pushing highway speeds past the limit