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Rural Highways Tempt Tampa Drivers To Speed

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By RICH SHOPES, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 31, 2008

Tampa drivers have a need for speed, at least when they hit Interstate 75.

A report released Thursday says Tampa Bay area drivers have a heavier foot on "suburban/rural" highways, such as I-75, than drivers on the same type of roads in the seven other metro areas studied across the country.

On I-75, which has a 70 mph limit, almost half the drivers were going faster than 75 mph, and one in seven were breaking 80.

"Tampa was interesting because the speeds were relatively in line with other drivers on urban interstates and arterial roads, but on the suburban/rural interstates the numbers were a lot higher," said Anne McCartt, a researcher at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, which conducted the study.

Using cameras and radar equipment, researchers from the institute went to Albuquerque, N.M.; Atlanta; Boston; Denver; Los Angeles; Omaha, Neb.; Tampa; and Washington, D.C. They sampled three types of highways: suburban/rural interstates, urban interstates close to cities, such as Interstate 4, and busy arterial roads.

The sampling was conducted during the day for several hours and captured portions of either the morning or afternoon rush hours.

In the Bay area's case, the teams set up last fall at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard two miles east of I-4, at I-4 near 50th Street and at I-75 three miles north of State Road 54 in Pasco County.

McCartt said the eight cities selected for the study were chosen for their locations and size to give researchers a varied sampling. Tampa joined the list for the first time last year.

Even when compared to cities with higher speed limits, Bay area drivers went faster, the study found.

In Denver, for example, only 1 percent of drivers exceeded 80 mph on highways with speed limits at 75 mph. But in Tampa, with the limits at 70 mph on major interstates, 14 percent of drivers blew past 80.

The study concluded what most of us already know intuitively, that drivers tend to go 5 to 10 mph over the limit on a regular basis. If the speed limit is raised, drivers will still break it by the same 5 to 10 mph, she said.

Almost a third of highway fatalities are linked to speeding, McCartt said.

"Faster speeds increase the frequency as well as the severity of crashes and help push up the crash death rates," she said. The institute is wholly funded by insurance companies.

Wayne Pickett of Valrico doesn't need a study to know Bay area drivers are speed demons. The salesman drives on I-75 at least three times weekly and racks up 40,000 miles yearly on Florida's roads.

He sticks to the middle lane when he takes I-75 and just "goes with the flow." When a speeder comes bearing down at 90 mph, "I just try to get out of their way."

"I drive at 79 and most of the time cars are going that fast or faster. People just aren't worried about getting stopped," he said.

McCartt said spotty law enforcement and a nonchalant attitude by the public are root causes of speeding. Also contributing are faster cars, busier lifestyles and the 1995 repeal of the 55 mph national maximum limit.

"But in general, if speeds are high it's because drivers think they won't get a ticket," she said.

Police are quick to say they can't be everywhere to catch speeders and that the public bears responsibility to obey the limits.

Even with enforcement patrols on the street on a regular basis, "As soon as they motorists go past and feel safe, they start speeding again," Hillsborough Sheriff's Deputy Major Bill Davis said.

There's no question speeding and fatal accidents are inextricably linked. According to the institute, almost a third of fatal crashes involve speeding.

Major Ernest Duarte, spokesman for the Florida Highway Patrol, said there's no easy solution.

Speeding and aggressive driving is growing everywhere, not just in Florida, and the best approach is public awareness campaigns coupled with enforcement of the limits.

"It's easy to take the focus off violators and put it on law enforcement, but driving is a privilege," he said. "We need public compliance."

The institute suggests an additional strategy: high-speed cameras and radar equipment. Some Florida counties and cities, such as Port Richey and Hillsborough, are exploring putting cameras at intersections to catch red-light runners.

McCartt suggested cities and states go further by using the technology to catch speeders, as about 35 cities already do. In Scottsdale, Ariz., a nine-month pilot program in 2006 saw a significant reduction in the number of speeders.

On a section of highway where the limit was 65 mph, 15 percent of drivers regularly drove faster than 75 mph. After the cameras were put in use, that figure dropped to 1 to 2 percent.

Florida law doesn't allow the use of cameras to catch speeders, and so far police and Florida transportation officials are cautious about lending support to the idea.

"It would have to be studied and all the legalities looked at," Duarte said.

Reporter Rich Shopes can be reached at (813) 259-7633 or at rshopes@tampatrib.com.

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