By O.T. BANTON: A newspaperman for more than 50 years, he covered the legislature and state government for the Lindsay-Schaub papers for 18 years prior to his semiretirement in 1962.
THE 55 mile per hour speed limit is being given more credit than it deserves in saving lives and reducing traffic accidents. This is the conclusion drawn by the Office of Transportation Safety of the Illinois Department of Transportation, following a study last year under the supervision of Karsten J.Vieg, director of the office, and Langhorne Bond, Illinois DOT secretary.
There is no question, Vieg says, that there have been benefits from limiting highway speeds. Lives have been saved, motor fuel conserved, and property losses reduced since the 55 m.p.h. limit became effective February 25, 1974, in Illinois ( Public Act78-954) as mandated by Congress. The number of highway deaths in 1974 was 2,007, compared to 2.369 in 1973, a reduction of 15.3 per cent (see table). But, Vieg in the study, leaches some "preliminary conclusions":
We attribute about a third of the reduction in fatalities to the effect of reduced speed and consider the remainder to have been due to factors or forces that had nothing, or little, to do with the change in speed limits.
Another one-third of the reduction, he believes, was due to "reduced vehicle miles of exposure," that is, fewer vehicles on the roads. He attributes the other one-third to such factors as rapid completion of interstate highway routes that eliminated hazards; emphasis on driver education programs, which are offered in nearly all high schools; and safer automobiles and increased use of seat bells.
Illinois, along with the other states, has been experiencing a reduced death rate per 100 million miles traveled on the highways since the early days of motor vehicles. The rate in Illinois was 25.5 in 1921, 3.9 in 1973, and 3.4 in 1974. "Because the trend in fatality rates has been on a measurable decline, we could have anticipated that a portion of the reduction experienced in 1974 would have occurred with out a 55 m.p.h. speed limit having been mandated." On this basis, 105 fewer deaths could have been expected. A similar analysis indicates that on the basis of reduced driving (because of the fuel shortage), 127 fewer deaths could have been expected.
Comparison of traffic deaths before (1973) and after (1974) 55 m.p.h. speed limit
|
Class of road |
||||
|
Urban: |
Traffic fatalities
|
Traffic fatalities
|
Number |
Decrease |
|
State |
414 |
317 |
97 |
23.4 |
|
City |
602 |
591 |
11 |
1.8 |
|
Rural: |
||||
|
State |
705 |
560 |
145 |
20.6 |
|
Local |
342 |
325 |
17 |
5.0 |
|
Unmarked state |
48 |
47 |
1 |
2.0 |
|
Interstate & toll roads |
258 |
167 |
91 |
35.3 |
|
State totals |
2, 369 |
2, 007 |
362 |
15.3 |
While Vieg says he dislikes trying to weigh the saving of lives against dollars, he sees some validity in the argument that the reduced speeds from the previous top speed limit of 70 m.p.h. on interstate routes in Illinois have cut into the financial benefits of bus and truck companies. They have had to revise schedules, and salesmen have curtailed routes. "In a nation where time is money, this has had a dollar impact that no one has explored," he says. The report closes by emphasizing two "critical points";
First . . . millions of hours, measurable in billions of dollars, were lost to increased travel time in 1974, and will continue to be lost as long as the lower speed limits are in force.
Second, speed studies show that the public continues to disobey the law, and at a seemingly increasing rate over the past few months. Average passenger car speed on the interstate system is now more than 60 m.p.h. and is creeping upward ....
Although we do not often talk about it, transportation systems require risks risks calculated in terms of time and money. Both public and individual decisions involving transportation reflect an acceptance of risk. If we were totally preoccupied with safety, for example, we might do well to reduce speeds even below the 55 m.p.h. limit. However, our critical task now is. to consider how the state and national needs are being served by the national policy on speed. At this time, it would be difficult to justify the reduced speeds on Illinois' interstate systems solely from a safety point of view.
The burden of enforcement of the speed limit in Illinois falls on the state police, whose chief, Dwight Pit man, reported that speeds were creeping up last year and were averaging 61 to 62 m.p.h. in spite of the best efforts of the police to enforce the 55 m.p.h.
Failure to successfully enforce the limit can carry a drastic financial penalty for a state. Norbert T. Tiemann, federal highway administrator, in an address last November before the New York Chamber of Commerce and Industry warned: "Any state that does not report annually that it is actively and seriously enforcing the speed limit can lose all of its federal aid highway funds. This is the sanction provided by law and if need be we will not hesitate to invoke it." On this basis, Illinois could lose more than $200 million if it failed to enforce the 55 m.p.h. speed law.
February 1976/Illinois Issues/20