With an effort to boost vehicle speeds on certain Wisconsin highways already on the table, a measure to slow down drivers on the same roadways has been added to the plate of lawmakers in the state.

Rep. Marlin Schneider, D-Wisconsin Rapids, introduced a bill Thursday, Sept. 15, that would reduce the speed limit on rural interstates and expressways from 65 mph to 55 mph.

The bill – AB658 – has been sent to the Assembly Committee on Highway Safety for consideration.

Schneider’s effort is in contrast to a bid in the state’s Senate that would raise the speed limit on the same roads.

Sen. Tom Reynolds, R-West Allis, has offered a bill that would raise the speed limit to 75 mph.

“We have an artificially low speed limit at 65,” Reynolds recently told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, noting that drivers already exceed that limit.

He said the higher limit would lead to safer roads because all drivers would travel at the same speed.

Eric Skrum, a spokesman for the National Motorists Association, a Wisconsin-based group, said his organization supports the higher limit.

“This is going to make the roads safer,” Skrum told Land Line.

The National Motorists Association advocates setting the speed limit at the “85th percentile,” the top speed traveled by 85 percent of drivers.

On rural freeways in the state, Skrum said that is 75 mph – a figure verified by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. He said raising the speed limit from 65 would mean that more people would be driving the same speed.

“Traffic will flow much smoother. You will have less weaving in and out of traffic, less tailgating and less congestion because the majority of the traffic is going roughly the same speed. It’s a safer driving environment,” Skrum said. “Speed doesn’t kill. It’s the speed differential that causes accidents.”

However, opponents of higher speeds, including chairs of the Assembly and Senate transportation panels, have raised concerns that the move could increase traffic fatalities. Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle also cited safety concerns when asked about the effort.

Reynolds’ bill – SB270 – is in the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Transportation.

– By Keith Goble, state legislative editor
keith_goble@landlinemag.com