There was big news in the Atlanta commuting world Friday when the Georgia Department of Transportation officially increased the speed limit on a 27-mile stretch of Interstate 285 from 55 miles per hour to 65 mph. The increase was generally well received by drivers who travel on the south side perimeter between Interstate 20 on the west side in Fulton County and I-20 on the east side in Dekalb County.
How will this increase impact traffic? Probably very little, in all honesty. If you have ever driven that stretch of I-285, you already know that the 55 mph speed limit was merely a suggestion. Typical speeds were usually well north of 60 mph.
From a traffic standpoint, that 27-mile slice of I-285 is usually well behaved, and certainly less likely to have delays than the rest of the perimeter. The north, east and wet sides of I-285 are always jammed, but the southern leg of I-285 is usually pretty peaceful.
“We believe I-285, which has as many as seven and no fewer than four travel lanes in each direction, can safely accommodate this increase and the new 65 mph speed will be more consistent with current driver expectations and behavior,” said GDOT Chief Engineer Russell McMurry.
I agree. Since most drivers were already driving faster than the posted speed limit, the increase seem appropriate. The question now is, what happens to speeds on that leg of I-285 going forward.
Now that the speed limit has increased, we can certainly expect drivers to follow suit. According to a study conducted by researchers at Purdue University, a majority of drivers believe that it is safe to exceed the speed limit and most will go as fast as they think they can without getting a speeding ticket.
Seventy-nine percent of the respondents in the Purdue study felt that it was safe to travel more than 10 mph over the speed limit, while 27 percent felt that it was safe to travel more than 20 mph over the speed limit.
If that data holds true here on I-285 in Atlanta, close to a third of drivers would feel fine zipping along at 85 mph now that the speed limit has increased.
That’s where law enforcement comes in. Again, the Purdue study finds that most drivers drive at a certain speed where they feel they won’t get a speeding ticket.
For me, on an interstate with a 65 mph speed limit, I usually drive around 73 mph. Where there is a 55 mph speed limit, I usually drive 63 mph. While that is well above the posted speed limit, I’m usually one of the slower drivers on the road, which is why you will generally find me in the right travel lane, trying to stay out of harms way.
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