Consistent I-90 Speed Limits Needed

Driving across the Idaho Panhandle just got trickier - particularly if the Idaho State Police goes ahead with its threat to strictly enforce Interstate 90’s new speed zones.

The speed limit fluctuates six times in the relatively short 73 miles between Washington and Montana. And only one stretch - from the Rose Lake junction just east of Fourth of July Pass to Osburn - permits the maximum 75 mph limit that governs Idaho’s interstate system elsewhere.

You can drive as fast as 70 mph from State Line to Coeur d’Alene, 65 mph from Coeur d’Alene to Rose Lake, 75 mph from Rose Lake through the Silver Valley to Osburn, 65 mph from Osburn to Wallace, 60 mph from Wallace to Mullan and 55 mph from Mullan to the Montana border.

Confused? Who can blame you?

The Idaho Board of Transportation should have listened to the state police’s recommendation for consistent I-90 speed limits. As is, many law-abiding motorists on cruise control will be surprised in the months ahead when patrol cars with flashing lights bear down on them.

All of this started when Congress voted to repeal the federal speed limit. Nearby Montana returned to its wild and woolly ways by casting off daytime limits (although you still can get a ticket for driving too fast for road and traffic conditions).

Idaho turned to the Idaho Department of Transportation for guidance. State engineers recommended raising the maximum limit to 75 mph on Idaho’s 570 miles of interstate and 65 mph on about 600 miles of other state and U.S. highways.

But the Idaho Board of Transportation embraced the hodgepodge of limits for I-90. Said board member John McHugh of Coeur d’Alene: “If we want faster speeds on open stretches of road, then we’re going to have to live with speed changes.”

The matter could come to a head if the state hikes fines for speeding.

Already, state Sen. Bruce Sweeney, D-Lewiston, is promoting an increase in speeding fines from the current $47 for violations of less than 20 mph and $102 for violations of more than 20 mph. He wants a $47 fine for speeds a mere 6 mph over the limit and $250 to $300 fines for higher speeds.

Some adjustment of fines makes sense with the new limits. Under the current system, motorists would have to clock 95 mph or more to get a stiff fine on the Rose Lake to Osburn stretch of I-90. Yet, drivers unfamiliar with I-90’s speed gantlet could face a whopping fine under Sweeney’s proposal simply by driving 65 mph on some stretches.

Before fines are raised, the Transportation Board should make I-90 limits more consistent to prevent the entrapment of drivers.

, DataTimes The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = D.F. Oliveria/For the editorial board