Maryland Autobahn? House Votes to Increase Speed Limits on Interstates

Drivers could step on the gas just a bit under a bill approved by the Maryland House that would raise the speed limit on expressways and Interstate highways from 65 to 70 mph.

The bill unanimously passed in the Maryland House, and now goes to the Senate, reports The Baltimore Sun. The change would apply to parts of the federal interstate highway system and limited-access highways such as the Intercounty Connector.

It’s not a done deal that the bill will win passage.

Last year, a bill unanimously passed the House last year that would have allowed a 70 mile per hour speed limit on Maryland interstates, says the Carroll County Times. However, the bill never got a vote in the Senate Judicial Proceedings, which is the next stop for this year’s bill.

Currently, 38 states have speed limits of 70 miles per hour on some portion of their roadway systems, the Times says.

The Maryland Department of Transportation says that speed limits have little effect on how fast most people drive. So it suggests limits at or below the speed at which 85 percent of motorists drive on any given road.