NEW SPEED LIMITS

Speed limits on Missouri highways have been regulated to a large extent by the federal government since 1974. Now the state Legislature has approved new limits -- without the federal oversight -- for motorists.

For the most part, the new limits set maximums for certain kinds of highways. For example, 70 mph is the fastest on interstates. Other key limits are 65 mph on some rural highways and 60 mph on many two-lane highways.

The speed limits are a bit more complex than that, though. The Legislature gave the Missouri Department of Highways and Transportation the authority to regulate speeds to match road conditions and other factors on all highways. In other words, the Legislature took a commonsense approach to highway speeds, now that the federal fetters are off.

There are good arguments that speed limits generally should have been lowered on all highways. Proponents of slower speeds cite statistics that show slower is safer. And these folks worry that increasing speed limits, even on interstates in wide-open areas with little congestion, is an invitation to increased injuries and fatalities as a result of driving faster.

And there are good arguments that speed limits should be higher in some areas where roads are well-designed and are intended to be used by modern vehicles also designed to travel safely at higher speeds.

While both sides make good points, it seems the state's highway department is probably in a better position than anyone else to make sound decisions on how fast traffic should be permitted to go on any given stretch of highway. Just as city governments set speed limits inside city limits based on many factors -- road condition, visibility, congestion, traffic counts, controlled access, intersecting streets and so forth -- so can the highway department consider those same elements on the state's highways.

The new highway limits are likely to be in effect this week, even though it will take days or even, in some cases, weeks before all the speed-limit signs are updated. The advice from the Missouri State Highway Patrol is to heed the posted signs, even the ones that haven't been changed yet.

Another good piece of advice: Drive safely. Regardless of speed limits, motorists must use good sense and caution whenever they are behind the wheel of a vehicle. Good motorists have always known that the speed limit is sometimes unsafe because of other conditions.