However, the bill is facing some opposition from AAA and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). According to the NY Times, AAA’s director of traffic safety Jake Nelson said that this bill is not “data driven policy and it’s poor for safety.” And Chuck Farmer, IIHS vice president of safety research told WGRZ-TV that if New York legislators are thinking about raising speed limits “my advice is not to. Just stick with what you’ve got.”
Most of the opposition to the bill revolves around safety. IIHS data suggests that higher speeds result in both more accidents and more deaths. While it’s true that more modern cars have advanced safety systems—such as lane departure warnings, blind-spot monitoring, and active braking systems—not everyone drives newer cars. So drivers of older, lower-cost cars could be at higher risk.
Even if the bill passes and is signed by Governor Kathy Hochul, speed limits won’t instantly rise. All the passed bill would do is authorize the New York Department of Transportation and Thruway Authority to increase speed limits to 70 mph on highways of their choosing.
New York is far from the only northeast state to have 65 mph speed limits. New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, and Rhode Island all have maximum speed limits of 65 mph. So if this bill were to pass in New York, it would be interesting to see if any other northeast states follow.
The Drive reached out to the New York DOT for a comment and will update this story if we get one.
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