Fiscal impact reports (FIRs) are prepared by the Legislative Finance Committee (LFC) for standing finance

committees of the NM Legislature. The LFC does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of these reports

if they are used for other purposes.

Current FIRs (in HTML & Adobe PDF formats) are a vailable on the NM Legislative Website (legis.state.nm.us).

Adobe PDF versions include all attachments, whereas HTML versions may not. Previously issued FIRs and

attachments may be obtained from the LFC in Suite 101 of the State Capitol Building North.

F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T

SPONSOR Sanchez, M.

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

2/7/2006

HB

SHORT TITLE Reduce Speed Limit & Define “Safety Corridor”

SB 720

ANALYST McOlash

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY06

FY07

None

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS)

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA

)

Responses Received From

NM Department of Transportation (NMDOT)

Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC)

Attorney General’s Office (AGO)

NM Taxation and Revenue Department (TRD)

NM Department of Public Safety (DPS)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Bill 720 amends 66-7-301 NMSA 1978 and allows the Department of Transportation to

designate areas as a safety corridor. A safety corridor is defined as a highway segment with a

five-year history of ten or more fatal or serious injury crashes. Double fines will apply in safety

corridors. Double fines cannot be imposed or enforced until there has been conspicuous notice

of the safety corridor designation for at least ten days prior to enforcement.

The bill also amends 66-7-301 NMSA 1978, 66-7-302.1 NMSA 1978 and 66-7-303 NMSA 1978

and lowers the maximum speed limit in the state to 65 miles per hour.

Senate Bill 720 - Page

2

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

There will be administrative impacts in the time and effort required to procure, manufacture and

install new traffic signs to address a change in maximum speeds estimated at $270 thousand. In

addition, there will be added administrative time associated with performing traffic-engineering

studies to support the establishing of safety corridors.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

Speeding-related crashes resulted in 13,192 fatalities in 2004. (NHTSA, 2005)

The economic costs of crashes that involved excessive speed were $40.4 billion, representing 18

percent of total crash costs and an average cost of $144 for every person in the United States.

(NHTSA, 2002)

When speed increases from 40 mph to 60 mph, the energy released in a crash more than doubles.

(IIHS, 2003)

Research by IIHS found that when speed limits were raised by many states in 1996, travel speeds

increased and motor vehicle fatalities went up approximately 15 percent on Interstate highways

in those states.

Alcohol and speeding are a deadly combination. In 2002, 42 percent of drivers with a Blood Al-

cohol Content (BAC) of .08 or higher involved in fatal crashes were speeding, compared to only

15 percent of sober drivers involved in fatal crashes. (NHTSA, 2003)

The DOT has adopted the practice of establishing posted speeds based on the 85

th

Percentile

Speed which is the predominant engineering practice utilized by all of the DOT’s in the United

States. The 85

th

Percentile Speed is defined as the speed at or below which 85 percent of free-

flowing vehicles travel. This measure is obtained through the conduct of an engineering speed

study. Studies have shown that neither raising nor lowering the speed limit has much effect on

vehicle speeds. In fact, percent compliance with the posted speed limit decreases when speed

limits are reduced that are not supported by an engineering study. The only major effect on

speeds is strict enforcement, which is a continual resource constraint on all states. Consequently,

establishing the maximum speed limit at sixty-five (65) miles per hour on all facilities will likely

introduce a greater degree of non-compliance and disregard for regulatory signing particularly on

the interstate system.

TECHNICAL ISSUES

The definition of a safety corridor is not based upon the amount of traffic usage but the whether

that area of the roadway has had ten or more fatal/serious injuries crashes within a five-year time

span. There are no other criteria for designating a section of road a safety corridor. There are no

provisions for the removal of a safety corridor designation.

POSSIBLE QUESTIONS

Once a section is determined to be a safety corridor and a 5-year period has passed without any

serious accident will the designation, be removed.

BMC/nt