Lower speed limits

After reading about two more college students dying on state highways due to bad road conditions, it dawned on me that there is perhaps one solution to these tragedies. If we have to adjust our tires to weather conditions, shouldn’t we be doing the same with speed limits when the weather is bad?

We are doing this already within school zones and city limits, so why not make the commitment to safety fully and adjust the speed limits on our high speed highways and interstates when conditions demand it? Trooper Jeff Sevigny admits that the speed limits posted are set for “ideal conditions.” If drivers going “too fast for conditions” are the culprit for 173 collisions alone in Kittitas County on one weekend, then we probably need to lower our speed limits for the conditions. Troopers admitted they could only go 35 to 40 miles per hour while responding to these emergencies. Shouldn’t this be a hint?

You would back this up by conducting emphasis patrols during those peak times of travel, like holidays, game day and kids trying to get back to school. Why not protect the kids with emphasis patrols just like we do with our school zones?

Bruce Moline

Spokane