Rep. Ben Koppelman, R-West Fargo, speaks on the House floor on Jan. 24, 2025. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)
BISMARCK (North Dakota Monitor) – North Dakota House members voted Friday to increase the state’s speed limit to 80 mph for interstate highways.
State lawmakers two years ago approved an identical bill, but then-Gov. Doug Burgum vetoed it, citing the state’s Vision Zero initiative to reduce serious injuries and fatalities on the state’s roadways.
North Dakota’s maximum interstate speed limit is 75 mph. Rep. Ben Koppelman, R-West Fargo, chief sponsor of House Bill 1298, said the speed limit increase would still allow cities and towns to work with the Department of Transportation to control the speed limits on portions of the interstate that pass through their city limits.
Rep. Dan Ruby, R-Minot, chair of the House Transportation Committee, noted that members of law enforcement and the Department of Transportation did not oppose the bill during the public hearing held this week.
“People are driving this speed now. I don’t think they’re going to jump up to a higher speed,” Ruby said. “We’re going to be matching the states around us.”
Montana and South Dakota have maximum speed limits of 80 mph on interstates, while Minnesota’s limit is 70 mph.
House members voted 69-22 to advance the bill to the Senate.
The American Property Casualty Insurance Association and Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety submitted written testimony opposing the increase.
“Even seemingly modest speed limit changes can have huge impacts on overall traffic safety,” wrote Catherine Chase, president of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety.
Sen. Sean Cleary, R-Bismarck, said he voted against the speed limit increase in 2023 and he plans to vote no again this year.
“I really don’t see a need to change it. It seems to be working fine the way it is right now,” Cleary said.
Rep. Pat Heinert, R-Bismarck, speaks on the House floor on Jan. 24, 2025. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)
Gov. Kelly Armstrong, who previously served as a state lawmaker, voted in favor of a bill in 2017 that would have raised the limit to 80 mph. Mike Nowatzki, Armstrong’s spokesman, said the governor will not comment on bills that are still under consideration by the Legislature.
Rep. Pat Heinert, R-Bismarck, a former Burleigh County sheriff, who voted against the bill, said he had concerns about motorists not slowing down in lower-speed zones around cities.
“We all know what law enforcement is going to do with that,” Heinert said. “We all know and I used to be there.”
Comments