Many states are upping their speed limit due to renewed reactions against government control. Virginia is the latest state to boost speed limits from 65 to 70 m.p.h. in rural areas. Tom Tom Inc., a GPS company, has released research showing the average speed of drivers on interstate routes. Mississippi has the highest speed of 70.1 m.p.h. and Washington D.C. has the lowest — 46.4 m.p.h. When given a stretch of open highway, most Americans tend to do about 70 anyway with their powerful, safe cars.
While many large open states like Utah, Idaho and South Dakota have long had speed limits of up to 75 or 80 m.p.h., the boost in more populated eastern states comes in part from record low highway fatalities, a 2009 figure of 33,963, the lowest since records began in 1954. The Federal Highway Administration estimates however, that almost a third of those deaths come from speed related incidents.
Back in the early 70′s a national speed limit of 55 m.p.h. was imposed, but ever since 1995, when a Republican Congress repealed the limit, states have been raising their highway speeds. While some believe that a potential summer hike in gas prices may force slower driving for energy conservation, Virginia’s recent action suggests just the opposite.