70 mph speed limit was a long time coming

WORLAND – The Wyoming Legislature passed bill SF0072 this year which changed the posted speed limits from 65 mph to 70 mph on secondary roads effective immediately. The change was supposed to have happened over a period of time starting in 2015.

“We go back about a year ago, we (Legislature) said there are places in Nebraska and other states where the speed limit is 70 mph on the secondary roads, so we directed WYDOT (Wyoming Department of Transportation) to move the speed limits up to 70 mph,” Wyoming Representative Mike Greear, R – Worland, said.

Before changing the speed limits, WYDOT felt that they needed to study the roads to make sure that such a change was safe. “What WYDOT did is that they took that and in order to move up the speed limit they had to do a study on each road and it was taking forever,” Greear stated. “Basically what it was is that the Legislature said there is no reason why we can’t have 70 miles per hour speed limits on roads that are capable of it and WYDOT proceeded to slowly move through that and engaged in bureaucracy to make that happen. They were spending a lot of money studying it,” he added.

Some secondary roads in the state were already changed when the bill passed. “Well a couple legislators asked WYDOT, ‘Why is it more roads in Wyoming are not 70 mph?’ and they said, ‘because we haven’t studied all of them.’ And so they were paying an out-of-state firm to come in and study whether or not the roads were safe, and once the study was done they would get around to changing the speed limits. So that was in place coming into this legislative session,” Greear said.

Wyoming Senator Leland Christensen sponsored bill SF0072 this year. “The bill was brought this year by Leland (Senator Christensen, R – Alta) and a lot of co-sponsors and it was, ‘No you’re not going to study it, you’re going to make the roads 70 mph and where you feel that it needs or where you show that people need to slow down, slow people down,” Greear explained.

The bill was originally to come into effect July 1, 2016, but was amended by Wyoming Representative Bob Nicholas, R – Cheyenne, in the House to be effective immediately. “Nicholas, out of Cheyenne, added this amendment that it be effective immediately. Keep in mind that if we passed the legislation in February, it would go into law July 1, 2016, and those roads would change in August or September,” Greear said. “It was an interesting turn of events, where it started out with, yes, our roads can be 70 mph, just make it happen, to as a matter of fact make it happen now,” he added.

Many secondary roads have already received their new speed limit signs. The Legislature adjourned March 4 and the governor signed the bill March 15. “Here we are mid-April and the signs are going up,” Greear stated.

Safety Concerns

The higher speed limit has brought up discussion about a higher chance of accidents but studies have revealed that that isn’t the case. “Two years ago, we increased the speed limit on the interstates up from 75 mph to 80 mph. We looked at studies out of Utah and Texas, which showed that that traveling speed was actually safer statistically. They had few accidents at those speeds. Also what they found was when you raise the speed limits, people have a tendency to drive at a speed that they are comfortable with,” Greear said.

Wyoming Highway Patrol Lieutenant Karl Germain agrees, “I don’t think that it will cause more accidents, it’s a five mile per hour increase but people need to remember that they will have less of a reaction time if an animal were to run out in front of them. Areas or road ways where there is a potential for more accidents because of steeper inclines, narrower road, WYDOT will continue to evaluate those and if they have to make those portions of the road a superintendent zone, they will do so.”

Wyoming statutes on speed limits Article 3 31-5-302 defines a superintendent zone as, “Whenever the superintendent determines upon the basis of an engineering and traffic investigation, or in the event of a vehicle or weather emergency, that a maximum speed greater or less than that authorized herein is required for safe and reasonable vehicle operation under the conditions found to exist at any intersection or other place or upon any part of the state highway system, the superintendent, except as provided for in W.S. 31-5-303(b), may determine and declare a reasonable and safe maximum limit thereat, which shall be effective when appropriate signs giving notice thereof are erected. The maximum speed limit may be declared to be effective at all times or at such times as are indicated upon the signs and differing limits may be established for different times of day, different types of vehicles, varying weather conditions, and other factors bearing on safe speeds, which shall be effective when posted upon appropriate fixed or variable signs. This section does not grant power to the superintendent to declare statewide or countywide maximum speed limits but grants power to declare maximum speed limits for the public safety in localized geographic areas.”

Following the posted speed limit is highly recommended by authorities. “We do expect people to travel 70 mph, 70 means 70 and anything over that is a violation of Wyoming law,” Germain stated.