Legislators should put brakes to higher speed limit
To the editor:
I thought most states were trying to conserve fuel, but Maine, on the other hand, seems to want to do just the opposite.
I understand there is a bill that wants to raise the speed limit to 75 mph on I-95 from Old Town to Houlton (a remote area). Do our legislators realize that for every 5 mph over the speed limit of 55 we travel, we add 24 cents per gallon to our already high gas prices? That is 20 miles over 55 for a total of 96 cents more per gallon. Aren’t we already paying enough in Maine and Aroostook County for gas (one of the highest prices in the state)? That’s almost an extra dollar a gallon!
I somehow don’t think this is a really good idea. What are they thinking in Augusta anyway? Sure we will get the goods faster, but will pay more for them because we all know the companies won’t absorb the increases.
How many people can control their vehicle at 75-plus mph when a moose or deer jumps out in front of them? Ask someone who has hit one (if they are alive to tell you about it). We are so concerned about distracted driving that we have forgotten that speed kills. People on I-95 leave you standing still at 65; if the speed limit is raised to 75, will most people go 80 or 85 (probably)? People tend to drive 5 to 10 miles over the posted speed limit no matter what. More accidents, more deaths on the highway.
The 55 mph speed limit was enacted many years ago to conserve fuel and save lives. It has done just that. Faster is not always better and isn’t our slogan “Maine the Way Life Should Be”, not “Life in the Fast Lane”.
Sheena McHatten
Castle Hill
