A Florida Senate panel backed a bill Thursday that will raise the state’s maximum highway speed limit to 75 mph, according to The Tampa Tribune.
The 6-1 Transportation committee vote faces opposition, including the AAA Auto Club. Tampa Democrat Arthenia Joyner says some Florida highway drivers already drive faster than the 70 mph limit; raising it would further jeopardize safety. Sponsors Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, and Sen. Jeff Clemens, D-Lake Worth, cite Florida’s decrease in driving deaths between 1996 and 2011. The bill would affect portions of highways that state traffic engineers evaluated as being safe for higher speeds.
