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Florida is one of 34 states that have speed limits of seventy miles an hour or below, but as Mike Vasilinda tells us, two state lawmakers are suggesting the Sunshine state join the five other states that raised their speed limits in the last year.

I Want to Drive 75

Florida didn’t adopt the 70 mile an hour speed limit on interstates until 1995. Last year nearly nine hundred thousand speeding tickets were written across the state. Now, two lawmakers are proposing bumping the limit up to 75 on interstates. The higher speed is just fine with George Martens  “I’d like to see 80”.  We met George on his way from Orlando to Illinois. “These cars today are made to go about ninety miles an hour, and have all sorts of items to avoid distraction” says the motorist.

Not everyone thinks its a good idea. DannyThomas worries motorists will start traveling faster than ever. “Everybody’s doing eighty plus,” says Thomas.  “So if you raise it to seventy-five, everybody will start doing eighty-five plus.”

At least fifteen states have higher speed limts than Florida’s. In Texas, you can legally go eighty-five on some roads.

The Department of Highway safety says the first thing they’re going to do is check with states that have raised the limit above 70 and ask how its working.  “What we’re going to do is reach out to the other states that have had this pass and see what their issue were and the successes with it” says Captain Nancy Rasmussen, the spokesperson for the Florida Highway Patrol in Tallahassee.

Back out at the rest area on Interstate Ten, long haul trucker Dan Taylor is all for traveling faster….because it’ll put more money in his pocket. “I’m paid by the mile, so the more miles I can get out in a day…and I can only drive for eleven hours, I make more money” says Tucker, who was on his way to Dallas, Texas.

Taylor is from Kansas…where interstate speeds are already posted at 75.

State Senator Jeff Clemons, one of two sponsors of the high limit was quick to point out the higher limit would be on rural interstate and toll roads only. He also tells us motorists should be able to drive at whatever speed is safe.

Here is a link to the speed limits in other states: http://www.ghsa.org/html/stateinfo/laws/speedlimit_laws.html