mericans drive is constantly increasing (from 2144 billion in 1990 to more than 2600 billion last year, the fatality rate per 100 million vehicle miles is the key statistic. This figure has been falling continually since the ‘20s, when it stood at more than 22 deaths per 100 million vehicle-miles. It has dropped from 2.08 in 1990 to 1.58 in 1999. Highway deaths did go up when speed limits were raised but overall deaths on all roadways stayed the same. That is because more people used the highway. The highway with higher speed limits attracts drivers from the slower roads. With more people traveling on this roads it is not surprising that there are more fatal accidents. When speed limits are raised police can access more time stopping reckless drivers, not just people exceeding the speed limit. Charles Lave, an economics professor at the University of California- Irvine, examined this phenomenon in a study in 1989. He found that raising highway speed limits allowed police to spend less time writing speeding tickets and more time apprehending drunk drivers and patrolling dangerous roads. The studies done by the IIHS also omitted several states in which traffic fatalities fell considerably. If those states were to be factored into the data, there would be almost no change at all in the rise of fatalities. Finally all speeding laws do some harm by providing the means for citizens to be fined, arrested, or otherwise restricted in their daily activities and commutes. Conclusion...
