Georgia Injury Law Blog
While driving on the interstate in Georgia, you may notice that in addition to the posted maximum speed, otherwise known as a speed limit, there is a minimum speed of 40 mph. This limit requires motorists to drive at least 40 mph in order to prevent slow driving from causing an accident. This minimum speed has stayed the same over the years, even as the maximum speed limit changed from 55 mph to 70 mph on some interstates.
Some Georgia legislators are proposing a change to the minimum speed in order to help close the wide gap in speeds between those traveling 40 mph and those traveling 70 mph. The argument is that by having such a large speed gap, motorists are more likely to be in a rear-end collision. The bill’s sponsor, John Carson of Marietta, explained that “I want to limit the number of rear-end collisions. I’ve received fatality reports … It’s horrific.” In support of the bill, Georgia Public Safety Commissioner William W. Hitchens III sent a letter to the legislature which states “As commissioner of the GA Department of Public Safety, I have no concerns as it relates to increasing the minimum speed limit on Georgia’s interstates. Our agency has seen several crashes that have occurred due to slow moving vehicles on roads through the state. Driving below the speed limit can in some cases, be as dangerous as traveling above the posted speed limit. Vehicles that are traveling below the minimum speed can cause traffic issues such as long backups and cause motorists to take evasive actions due to approaching the vehicle faster than expected. This can be exacerbated when traversing hill crests and curves without a long sight distance. Additionally, crashes occur on multi-lane roads when drivers change lanes to pass slower moving vehicles. While DPS doesn’t experience a lot of crashes based on the minimum speed, crashes that we do investigate seem to have more significant damage and injuries due to the speed difference.”
House Bill 809 would raise the minimum speed to 50 mph on highways in which the maximum speed is 65 or greater. Opponents of the bill such as Representative Rhonda Taylor of Conyers expressed that seniors may have difficulty maintaining this higher speed, saying “It would be a better solution … (to) move to the right.” Higher minimum speeds could also create dangerous conditions during storms and adverse weather, when motorists are unable to maintain high speeds due to wind or rain.