By Miranda Davis
KU Statehouse Wire Service

TOPEKA – Kansans could be driving a lot faster if a bill to increase the state’s speed limit to 80 mph wins legislative approval.
The House Transportation Committee heard testimony Tuesday on House Bill 2450, which would raise the speed limit on some multilane Kansas highways.

Rep. John Bradford, R-Lansing, spoke in favor of the bill, saying he had personal experience driving around some parts of the country this summer, and said he enjoyed the higher speed limits when he was traveling.

Bradford said the increased speed limit would help with safety, and that many people are already driving faster than 80 mph.

“If you’re out on the highway, you’ll quickly see there are many drivers already driving 80, 85, 90 and some even faster,” Bradford said.

But not everyone who testified agreed higher speed limits are a good idea.

The Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) and the Kansas Highway Patrol both provided written testimony opposing the bill. Both groups expressed concerns about highway safety if the speed limit were to increase.

KDOT said that vehicle crashes have risen since the state increased the speed limit from 70 to 75 mph in 2011. KDOT said that fatalities increased about 22 percent on the 75-mph highways, and fatalities decreased about 5 percent on the rest of the highway system. KDOT plans to conduct additional research with Kansas State University.

A key concern is that the increase to 80 mph will create a de facto 90 mph speed limit. The bill says that if someone is pulled over and is going less than 10 miles over the speed limit, the violation will not be reported to the Division of Motor Vehicles or considered a moving violation.

The bill also prevents insurance companies from changing or canceling policies if a driver is ticketed for going 10 miles over the limit.

The 10-mph buffer is in effect for current speed limits. Tom Whitaker, executive director of the Kansas Motor Carriers Association, said the organization does not support the buffer, and he proposed removing the provision if the bill moves forward.

“We support a uniform speed limit but strict enforcement of that speed limit,” Whitaker said.

HB 2450 would only affect separated multilane highways designated by the Transportation Secretary.

Changing signs on the applicable highways would cost about $20,000 and could be handled within the current KDOT budget, according to the fiscal note on the bill.

Edited by Leah Sitz