LANSING (WWJ) – Changes could be coming to the way local jurisdictions set speed limits in Michigan, as a bill makes its way through the state’s House of Representatives.
Under current state law, speed limits are set based on the 85th Percentile Rule – which sets suggested limits from speed and engineering studies by MDOT and Michigan State Police at the point 85% of drivers do not exceed.
The rule requires jurisdictions to round to the nearest multiple of 5 mph.
But H.B. 4012, introduced by Rep. Bradley Slagh, R-Zeeland, is looking to change that.
Slagh tells WWJ’s Alexis Ware even if a study determined the average speed of drivers in a 35 mph zone was 37.6 mph, in an area where residents are concerned about speeding drivers, law would require the limit to be bumped up to 40 mph.
“In the existing law, the way it’s structured, you can actually be forced – forced – to set your speed limit and signage at a rate that is higher than the 85th percentile,” Slagh said.
Slagh’s bill is centered around giving jurisdictions more control over speed limits in their zones, giving them the option to either increase, decrease or keep speed limits the same, as long as they stay within 5 points of the percentile.
The complicated rule recently came into play in South Haven – near the West Michigan lakeshore – when residents wanted the speed limit on Phoenix Road to change, but city officials told them it wasn’t practical because of the rule, according to WOOD TV in Grand Rapids.
Slagh tells WWJ he believes the bill has a good chance of becoming law.
He introduced a similar bill two years ago, which made it through the House, but it never made it out of the Senate Transportation on Infrastructure Committee before the session ended.
The proposed legislation also seeks to remove the requirement of a speed and engineering study in order to change a speed limit. It would instead allow a modified speed limit to be determined in accordance with practices that give “an objective analysis of the characteristics of the highway.”
The bill would also allow a speed limit to be set below the 85th percentile if a study showed situations with public safety hazards.
Last fall a study by Michigan State University researchers determined a 2017 change to Michigan laws that increased highway speed limits in some areas to 75 mph led to more crashes, according to a report from the Detroit Free Press.
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