we compiled a list of speed limits across different states to see how they differed. We found that in South Dakota, rural and urban interstate highways have a speed limit of 80. The South Dakota speed limit is one of the highest, since many other states have speed limits between 65 and 75 on these roadways.
Why is the speed limit so high in South Dakota, and what impact has it had on
Before the state increased the speed limit in 2015, South Dakota already had a speedy driver problem. So state lawmakers decided that increasing the state’s top speed limit to 80 mph would make legal what was already happening anyway, according to the
But unfortunately, it seems that raising the speed limit may have encouraged people to drive faster, according to the publication, which examined four years of speeding ticket data.
That data revealed that drivers are speeding more since the speed limit was increased to 80 mph. Previously, the average speed a driver was cited for was 86 mph in a 75 mph zone. In the 21 months after the speed limit increase, that average speed citation rose to 88 mph.
The publication also found that speeding citations also increased significantly, with 465 citations given to drivers traveling 100 mph following the speed limit increase. That’s compared to just 272 similar citations that occurred before the speed limit increase, during the same time period.
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In addition, it seems that with the speed limit increase, fatal traffic accidents in South Dakota may have also increased. In fact, the Argus Leader stated that in 2016, there was an increase in car accidents where speed contributed.
Interestingly, it appears that the Highway Patrol officers may also have become less lenient since the new speed limit was implemented. In the past, the average citation was 11 mph in 75 mph zones, and more recently it changed to 8 mph in 80 mph zones.
, South Dakota isn’t the only state that has increased its speed limit over the years.
Before 1974, states could set their own speed limits. That year, President Richard Nixon signed the Emergency Highway Energy Conservation Act, establishing a national highway speed limit of 55 mph.
States were allowed to raise speed limits to 65 mph in 1987, and finally in 1995, all restrictions were removed and states were allowed to decide what the maximum speed limit should be. Since then, many states have raised their maximum speed limit.
In South Dakota, the speed limit on interstate highways was raised to 65 mph in 1995, to 75 mph in 1996, and finally to 80 mph in 2015.
reported that so far in the year, there had been 477 citations to South Dakota drivers going 100 mph or more. That means as of Nov. 4, 2021, South Dakota Highway Patrol officers were averaging around 1.5 100 mph speed limit stops a day.
KELOLAND News estimated that South Dakota drivers caught going more than 100 mph traveled a total of 48,201 mph all together on South Dakota highways in 2021, as of November—averaging out to 101 mph per citation.
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