ST. GEORGE — Drivers on Interstate 15 in Washington County will soon be able to traverse the county lawfully at higher speeds.
The Utah Traffic Commission Friday adopted a recommendation to increase the speed limit on the highway, according to a report by Fox 13 Now.
Currently, the speed limit from the Arizona border northward to just prior to the Brigham Road exit at milepost 4 is 75 mph. The speed limit then drops to 65 mph through St. George and Washington City and jumps back up to 75 mph at milepost 11. The current speed limit increases to 80 mph northbound at milepost 24 past Leeds.
New limits will be 70 mph from mileposts 0 to 11, 75 mph from mileposts 11 to 16, and 80 mph at milepost 16 past the state Route 9 exit northward.
The speed increase was due to a review of speeds on the interstate highway and recent improvements that have been made to the road, Utah Department of Transportation Traffic and Safety Director Robert Miles said, as reported by Fox 13 Now. The department looked at crash statistics and traffic studies when making the recommendation, Fox reported, and the speed increase standardizes speeds in urban areas across the state.
Miles said studies have shown that increased speed does not mean more accidents.
“What we have seen in the past is when we have adjusted speed limits, it really doesn’t adjust the behavior of the people,” Miles said.
The new speed limits should be in effect and new signs posted by the end of the year.
See more from Fox 13 Now: Speed limits on I-15 to increase in and around St. George
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @STGnews | @NewsWayman
Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2015, all rights reserved.
statistically maybe there isn’t more accidents but at higher speeds i guarantee that each occurrence will be more severe. I guess that Utards will drive recklessly at any speed tho…
Oh oh somebody got Mesaman all upset ! LOL woooohooooo!
This will make the rollovers much more entertaining.
Well this would of never happened if it wasn’t for the approval by the Mormon politician’s. so its clear there is no speed limit required by the Book of Mormon
You have a navel, you have an opinion, neither is worth looking into, so bite me.
i wonder if mm goes around in public requesting random strangers to bite him? isn’t that illegal?
Good one Nolan. You’re a peach.
That’s not very Mormon of you. Oops I forgot.you Mormons are perfect. Perfect liars and bigots that is !
Finally, I won’t get a ticket for driving 82
You will be safe from getting a ticket. as long as you don’t violate the mesamans book of Mormon traffic procedures
Is that the book that says: 1. you don’t need to watch out for others on the road ( it’s all about you) 2. If someone in front of you is going slower than you, it’s okay to tailgate (they are in your way and it’s all about you. And 3. Never use your blinkers ( it’s all about you)
Yes that’s the book approved by the Prophet Mesaman .of the cult of the LDS
The idiots couldn’t drive at the slower speed limit.
An increase on speed limits is fine for places like Nevada and California, but not Utah, These ignoramas have head-on accidents going 25 mph.
California’s speed limit is lower than Utah’s. But it doesn’t matter. Utah drivers are not safe at any speed. It’s not just the actual accidents and deaths/injuries; it’s also the near-misses when sane drivers are able to avoid one of the maniacs. Can’t wait to see what happens when the meth heads ramp up to 90-100 (which they will now do because you HAVE to drive at least ten miles faster than the speed limit to prove your virility). Good luck with this one.
As if we don’t have enough accidents already, right? Really, how fast is fast enough? Will it ever be fast enough? Are the wannabee Nascar drivers ready to rally? Come one, folks. Get real. We can’t just keep upping the speed to accommodate the speeders all the time.
Utah and several other US states have been very good at setting posted speed limits at the safest levels, the 85th percentile speeds of free flowing traffic under good conditions, rounded to the nearest 5 mph interval. For the great majority of rural Interstates nationwide, this means the correct posted limit is 80 mph. There are now 7 states with 80 limits on many rural Interstates and equivalent freeways. Are there exceptions? Sure, some of the most crowded eastern seaboard routes would be best posted at 75, with some as low as 70. But 80 is right for almost everywhere else. Kudos to Utah and others for eliminating predatory speed traps on Interstates.
James C. Walker, Life Member – National Motorists Association