‘Speed Kills’ hype takes another blow
Categories: Opinion
Written By: admin
Since 1982, one organization has stood as American drivers’ only real line of defense against the egregious perversions of road ‘justice’ perpetrated on us by politicians and bureaucrats, and the insurance lobby that backs them: the National Motorists Association. They’ve fought the good fight, keeping the joyless foes of freedom from saddling us with other witless legislation, such as the 1970’s 55mph National Maximum Speed Limit (NMSL).
But their small voice of rationalism is often lost in the cacophony of the ‘Speed Kills!’ rants that help support so much money-grubbing lobbying. What helps keep them going is that the facts are firmly on the NMA’s side. Rational road laws designed by traffic engineers—not political apparatchiks or lobbyists—increase safety and decrease accidents.
The ‘Safety Nazis’ and the people who benefit from their actions just took another body blow to their hyperbole, when reports came out about the effects of a speed limit increase to 80mph on certain sections of Interstate-15 in Utah. Despite the gnashing of teeth and rending of garments expected when the roads ran red with blood (I know it sounds like I’m exaggerating just a little bit, but have you ever heard Joan Claybrook or others of her ilk?), after a year, this raising of the speed limit caused no increase in accidents, according to data from the Utah Department of Transportation.
This jives with reports from other states—and even the feds—that show that speed limits that accurately reflect how normal Americans actually drive make traffic safer, and often lower the incident of accidents, injuries, and deaths.
Moreover, the UDOT data show that drivers were more likely to comply with the new speed limit, which trashes the myth—also perpetuated by the insurance lobbyists—that whenever limits are raised, people will just drive faster and faster.
But the temptation is always there for cash-starved governments to artificially lower speed limits in order to increase the number of ‘speeders’, making ticket generation (a multi-billion dollar business) easier. Especially when the economy is weak and tax revenues are down. And, of course it’s easier to justify such abuse of power if it is in the name of ‘safety’.
The National Motorists Association operates on a shoestring budget, especially compared to those they fight against up and down the Washington beltway. They are worthy of the support of anyone who values their freedom of movement.
