Speed Limit Increase Passes Virginia House and Senate

Today, both chambers of the Virginia General Assembly passed Governor Bob McDonnell’s proposal to raise the speed limit on rural highways to 70 miles per hour. This proposal had support on both sides of the aisle, and now, the two bills will be voted on again by the House and Senate before going to the Governor’s desk for a signature. In the House, Del. Bill Carrico (R-Galax) sponsored the bill, while Sen. Steve Newman (R-Lynchburg) was the patron of the Senate version.

McDonnell released the following statement on the speed limit increase:

Speaking about today’s vote, Governor McDonnell remarked, “I thank Delegate Bill Carrico and Senator Steve Newman for their successful advocacy of this important proposal to speed up traffic in rural and less populated sections of Virginia. As today’s votes in both chambers demonstrate, there is broad bipartisan support for this common-sense idea. 32 states already have 70mph speed limits, and 13 allow motorists to drive 75mph. This slight increase in our speed limit will be safe for motorists and help get Virginians to their destinations a little quicker each day. This is an important early step towards our common goal of improving transportation in the Commonwealth.”

Senator Steve Newman noted, “Increasing the speed limit to 70mph on Virginia’s highways will help commuters get to their destinations more quickly and safely. Virginia now joins 33 other states that have increased their speed limits above 65mph and I applaud Governor McDonnell’s leadership on this issue.”

Delegate Bill Carrico added, “I’m pleased that the bill to increase the speed limit on rural stretches of highway to 70mph has passed both houses of the General Assembly. This is a common-sense reform that will make sure highway traffic moves at a more uniform speed on Virginia’s highways.”

This is a good thing, as many states have enacted this in rural areas with little to no increases in traffic accidents.