Florida could soon raise the speed limit on its highways

Florida may soon raise its speed limit caps.

Sen. Nick DiCeglie, a Pinellas Republican, filed an amendment to a transportation bill (SB 462) that could hike speed limits on major roads by 5 miles per hour.

The bill, should the amendment pass, would set a minimum speed on all highways, meaning those roads with at least four lanes of traffic. The exact speed allowed would depend on other factors.

DiCeglie’s legislation would call for the maximum speed limit on limited access highways to jump from 70 miles per hour to 75 mph. For any other highways outside urban areas, meaning those with populations of 5,000 or more, the speed limit would ramp up from 65 mph to 70 mph, so long as there was a median strip dividing the lanes of traffic.

The language filed by DiCeglie would also allow the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) to set maximum speeds for other roads deemed as safe and advisable as high as 65 mph. The agency right now only has discretion to boost the maximum speed on such roads to 60 mph.

The amendment was filed on a bill related to other transportation planning issues, including the distribution of the State Transportation Trust Fund, and regulations including construction and maintenance contracts.

A staff analysis of the pre-amendment bill notes that FDOT has a responsibility to plan and develop highway corridors that allow for high speed and high volumes of traffic. That includes setting out 20-year plans for the state’s interstate system.

The legislation is expected to land in front of committee for the first time on Wednesday at 9 a.m., when the Senate Transportation Committee considers the bill. It must go through two other committee stops before reaching the Senate floor.

Notably, a companion bill (HB 567) in the House carried by Republican Rep. Fiona McFarland includes no language about changing speed limits at the moment.