IT'S TOO EARLY TO TELL IF HIGHER SPEEDS MEAN MORE FATALITIES

When the federal government decided last year to allow states to set speed limits above the nationally mandated 55 mph (65 mph on rural interstates), there were cautionary claims that higher speeds would surely result in more traffic fatalities.

Early results indicate these warnings were right. And wrong.

Eight states that increased speed limits last winter have experienced more highway fatalities. But four states with higher limits have had fewer fatal highway accidents.

In Missouri, the Missouri State Highway Patrol is watching the accident data very carefully following various increases in speed limits around the state -- up to 70 mph on some interstates. But with only eight months of hard data so far, it is too early to draw any conclusions about the relationship between speed and auto fatalities, according to Lt. Ron Beck, assistant director of the patrol's public information and education division in Jefferson City.

Here is what happened in Missouri during the first eight months of 1996: There was a 30 percent decrease in fatalities on secondary roads such as county roads. There was an 11.5 percent decrease in fatalities on primary state highways with number and letter designations. And there was a 54.5 percent increase in fatalities on interstates.

Since August -- even though all the figures haven't yet been analyzed -- there has been a decline in overall highway fatality statistics for the state. Beck says year-end figures will be closely studied, and then the patrol will try to make some sense of the statistics and whether or not speed was a key factor.

As Beck notes, the trend in highway fatalities in Missouri has been going up year by year: 949 traffic deaths in 1993, 1,089 in 1994 and 1,109 in 1995 -- all during a period when the speed limits were still at the slower pace. It is too early to tell whether or not the 1996 figure will be higher or lower than last year.

There are other factors that figure significantly in highway accidents as well as speed, such as weather and road conditions. One factor that is being addressed is the crossover accidents that occur when a vehicle on a busy divided highway crosses the median and collides with vehicles going the other direction. In many highly congested areas, concrete barriers have been erected to prevent such crossovers, and more are planned by the Missouri Department of Transportation.

Interestingly, a statistic that is just as closely watched nationally is accidents involving vehicles that are going too slow where pokey travel creates a dangerous situation. Some of these also cause fatalities.

Nationally, it may take up to three years to determine what impact higher speed limits are having on fatalities. In the meantime, the highway patrol encourages every motorist to abide by the posted speed limits and to adjust accordingly for traffic conditions, weather and other factors.