(Radio Iowa) – The 55 mile an hour speed limit on two-lane state highways would be raised to 60 under a bill that’s won House approval. House Speaker Pat Grassley says it got enthusiastic support from many House Republicans.
“We’ve heard from a lot of Iowans, you know I think maybe even more so from rural Iowa,” Grassley says. “As long as I’ve been around here there’s been that request of the legislature and I think it maybe is the perfect storm at this point in time to see just that slight increase.” The bill passed on a 76-to-16 vote. Representative Austin Baeth, a Democrat from Des Moines who opposed the move, says studies show traffic fatalities increase when speed limits are raised.
“You know statistics don’t bleed, but real people do,” Baeth said. The Senate voted last year to move the speed limit to 60 on two-lane state highways, but the House made a slight change in the bill. That means the bill must go back to the Senate for review before it could be sent to the governor.
