Too early to draw conclusions on speed limit boost, say police

(Harrisburg) — Crash reports are up slightly since the speed limit on the Pennsylvania Turnpike increased to 70 miles per hour, though fewer speeding tickets have been issued.

But state police say it’s too early to draw any conclusions.

In the three full months since the change, state police responded to 237 crashes, compared to 222 in 2013 on the same 97-mile Turnpike stretch.

State police Lieutenant Edward Murphy says weather, changing construction zones, and traffic patterns can all contribute to the increase.

“It’s about 12 crashes difference, and with the differences you have with weather conditions, traffic volumes, it’s really not a number that concerns us at this point,” he says.

He says troopers may need more than a year of data before they feel comfortable pointing to any one factor.

On the other hand, Murphy says it’s hard to ignore the 39 percent jump in the number of warnings while *ticketing* declined.

“There may be something there to do with the change in the speed limit. Citations have gone down somewhat due to the fact that people that are speeding aren’t necessarily as far over the limit as they used to now that the limit has been raised,” he adds.

Murphy says, in general, people drive at the speed they’re more comfortable with, so the speed limit change may be falling more in line with the habits of those who use the Turnpike.

The 70 mile per hour speed limit stretch runs from Exit 201 – Blue Mountain in Cumberland County to Exit 298 – Morgantown in Berks County.