RICHMOND — Even a second trip through a Senate committee wasn’t enough to slow down a 70 mph speed-limit bill sponsored by Sen. Steve Newman, R-Lynchburg.
The Senate Transportation committee approved a bill Thursday to increase the speed limit to 70 on highways where a traffic engineering study has deemed it safe.
The vote was 11-4, roughly the same margin by which the committee passed the bill last week.
The 70 mph limit was one of Gov. Bob McDonnell’s campaign promises.
A similar bill was approved by a House of Delegates committee Wednesday, meaning the full House and Senate will soon vote on the higher speed limit.
Newman said he called the bill back into the Senate committee because lobbyists who wanted to comment on it last week didn’t know the bill (SB 537) was on that day’s agenda.
Chris LaGow, an insurance lobbyist, told the committee members every 5 mph increase in speed increases the energy released in a crash by a much higher factor, resulting in more loss of life and property damage.
LaGow also said a higher speed limit would be costly in terms of more highway rumble strips, guardrails and changes in speed-limit signs.
A study by the Virginia Department of Transportation for a speed-limit bill last year put the cost at $1.9 million, he said.
Doug Douglas, a lobbyist for the Virginia Motorcoach Association, said the speed limit should remain at 65 mph for buses and motor coaches because of their weight.
Representatives of VDOT and the Division of Motor Vehicles both said their agencies supported the bill.
Newman, in presenting the bill, said 33 states allow speeds of at least 70 mph, including North Carolina. A dozen states allow 75 mph, he said.
Higher speeds don’t necessarily increase fatalities, Newman said, citing U.S. Department of Transportation data that showed the fatality rate last year hit an all-time low of 1.16 per 100 million miles traveled.
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