The Jones Bill in America Raising the Speed Limit.

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For the last few years, as budget-pressured states and municipalities have pressed law-enforcement to write more speeding and traffic tickets, employed speed cameras and battled in court against drivers who warn other drivers about speed traps, there are voices, including those of some police departments, saying higher speed limits would be safer and contribute to our quality of life.

Take Michigan State Senator Rick Jones, a Republican from Grand Ledge, Mich., and a former police officer, who has proposed that state speed limits be raised to as high as 80 mph, up from the upper limit of 70 mph. The Detroit News recently supported Jones' measure with an editorial.

Jones knows local police forces may fight the proposal until they figure out how to replace lost ticket revenue.

"All good police officers oppose speed traps," Jones says. "Speeds should be posted scientifically and properly for the safest speed and then the officers will catch the big violators. We don't need to get the average Joe getting to work." Jones also said the higher limits would afford police the ability to focus on other enforcement areas such as impaired, distracted or careless driving, and restraint (seat-belt) enforcement.

There is support at the state level.

"With artificially low speed limits we put police in a position of actually ticketing safe drivers," said Lt. Gary Megge of the Michigan State Police Traffic Services. He's pushing for Jones' bill.

Illinois has recently upped its speed limits on rural highways from 65 mph to 70 mph. And there is support in Wisconsin's state house for similarly increasing the speed limit from 65 mph to 70 mph, a measure that has support from some of the state's newspapers
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