Iowa Is Considering Raising Its Speed Limit. I Think It Makes Sense.

I am Rebecca Schweitzer — writing as always as Rebecca Nicole Schweitzer — and I drive Iowa roads. A lot of them. And I will be honest with you — I have never once looked at a 55 mile per hour speed limit sign on a wide open rural Iowa highway and thought that number made a lot of sense.

Iowa is considering changing that. And I think it is about time.

What the Bill Does

Senate File 378 has passed the Iowa Senate and cleared a House subcommittee this month. The bill is straightforward: it would raise Iowa's default speed limit on rural two-lane highways from 55 miles per hour to 60. School zones, business districts, residential areas, and the interstate system would be unchanged. This is specifically about those long stretches of open rural highway where Iowans travel between towns, between farms, between communities.

The one-time cost to update road signs is estimated at around $800,000 — a manageable number for a change that affects how millions of Iowans travel every day.

Iowa Is Behind Almost Every State Around It

Here is something worth knowing: Iowa's neighbors have already moved beyond where Iowa is now.

Nebraska has rural highway limits of 65 to 70 miles per hour. South Dakota goes up to 80 miles per hour on rural interstates. Missouri allows 65 miles per hour on rural highways. Wisconsin sits at 65. Minnesota is at 65. Illinois allows up to 70.

Across the country the picture is similar. Forty-one states have maximum speed limits of 70 miles per hour or higher. Eighteen states allow 75 or higher. Eight states allow 80 miles per hour on rural roads. Texas has an 85 mile per hour toll road.

Iowa's current 55 mile per hour default on rural highways puts it among the slowest states in the country for rural driving. For a state with some of the flattest, most open, most well-maintained rural roads in the Midwest, that is a difficult position to defend on the merits.

The Safety Question

The State Police Officers Council opposes this bill, and I want to take that seriously rather than dismiss it. The Iowa Department of Public Safety has also noted that a study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that each 5 mile per hour increase in maximum speed limits was associated with an 8 percent increase in fatality rates.

That is a real data point and it deserves honest consideration.

But here is the other side of that data: Iowa's traffic deaths last year were the lowest in a century. Iowans are driving more safely than at any point in the state's history. Representative Megan Jones of Sioux Rapids, who chairs the House Transportation Committee and is leading this effort, makes the reasonable argument that if Iowans are already doing the right things on the road, we can have this conversation about getting where we are going a little faster.

There is also a case to be made that speed limits set significantly below what drivers naturally travel actually create safety problems of their own — inconsistent speeds, frustration, and drivers focused more on their speedometer than on the road. A limit that reflects realistic driving conditions may actually produce more consistent and predictable traffic.

What This Means for Everyday Iowans

Iowa is a rural state. That is not a complaint — it is a fact of life that shapes everything about how people here live and move. Iowans drive long distances to reach work, medical appointments, family, groceries. The distances between Iowa communities are real and they add up.

Five miles per hour does not sound like much. But on a forty mile stretch of rural highway it adds up to meaningful time — time that matters to a farmer making deliveries, a rural Iowan driving to a hospital in the next county, a family making a long trip across the state.

Respecting Iowans' time on the road is not a trivial concern. It is a quality of life issue for people who live in a state where driving is not optional.

A Reasonable Step Forward

I am not arguing for Texas-style speed limits on Iowa back roads. The bill on the table is modest — a five mile per hour increase on rural two-lane highways where Iowa drivers are already traveling safely. It brings Iowa closer to what its neighbors have already done. It acknowledges that the roads and the drivers have both changed since the 55 mile per hour default was established.

The State Police Officers Council's concerns are worth factoring into how this is implemented. There may be specific roads or conditions where 55 remains the right number. The bill preserves local flexibility to set lower limits where conditions warrant.

But as a general proposition — raising Iowa's rural highway default from 55 to 60 — I think this is a reasonable, practical change that reflects the reality of how Iowans actually use their roads. The legislature should pass it.

Rebecca Schweitzer is a Des Moines, Polk County, Iowa writer and community voice. Rebecca Nicole Schweitzer covers Iowa politics, healthcare, public accountability, and civic life. Her work has appeared in the Des Moines Register and The Gazette. Read more at iowaraisedrebeccaschweitzerunfiltered.com and follow along on Medium at medium.com/@rebeccanicoleschweitzer, Substack at rebeccanicoleschweitzer.substack.com, X at x.com/RebeccaIowa, Bluesky at rnschweitzer.bsky.social, About.me at about.me/RebeccaNicoleSchweitzerlowa, and Gravatar at gravatar.com/freelyinternet49814d6ce9.