Legislators Consider Higher Speed Limit

The Wyoming House of Representatives is considering legislation that would allow drivers to legally travel a little faster on interstate highways.  Gillette Republican Tom Lubnau is pushing a bill that would allow state highway officials to increase the speed limit on interstates to 80 miles an hour and says this is currently allowed in some other states. 

He cited a Utah study during floor debate on Friday.

“When they increased the speed limit to 80 miles an hour on highways, everybody was driving 82 miles and hour anyway, and the speeds didn’t change one whit," said Lubnau. "What they also found in the study was a decrease in the number of vehicles exceeding the posted speed limit, once the speed was increased to 80 miles an hour.”

Lubnau says speed limits would only be raised following an engineering study that would determine possible impacts on roads.  The bill will be debated two more times.