Jefferson City is inching closer to faster driving on long stretches of highway, as a bill to bump Missouri's top speed on rural interstates to 75 miles per hour cleared a key Senate committee this week and landed on the chamber's formal calendar. Supporters say the move would simply bring Missouri in line with its neighbors while leaving most urban and local limits alone. Critics warn it could make already bad crashes a lot worse.
What the bill would do
Senate Bill 1408 would repeal and replace Section 304.010 of the Revised Statutes to set a uniform maximum of 75 miles per hour on rural interstates and freeways, according to the Missouri Senate. Other categories, including rural expressways and urban interstates, would stay at lower posted speeds. The proposal also keeps in place the authority of the Highways and Transportation Commission and MoDOT to fine-tune limits for specific stretches of road.
Legislative tracking shows the measure was reported "do pass" out of the Senate Transportation, Infrastructure, and Public Safety Committee and placed on the Senate's formal calendar for consideration, according to LegiScan.
How backers are selling it
Sponsor Sen. Jamie Burger, R-Benton, has argued the higher limit reflects improvements in vehicle safety and manufacturing and said he wants Missouri to "match our neighboring states," according to reporting by Missourinet. Burger told reporters he even briefly considered going higher before settling on 75 miles per hour as a first step.
Safety concerns and the data behind them
State transportation officials and safety researchers are not exactly cheering. The Missouri Department of Transportation told local outlets, "From a safety perspective, if speed limits are raised to 75 mph, the state should expect to see an associated increase in fatalities and serious injuries," according to News-Press NOW.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has found that a 5 mph increase in a state's maximum speed limit is associated with about an 8.5% rise in fatality rates on interstates and freeways, a statistic safety advocates regularly point to when lawmakers talk about going faster.
What drivers and truckers are saying
Truck drivers and Missouri State Highway Patrol troopers told local stations they worry that higher posted limits would increase the severity of crashes. Corporal Ralicia Tyler told KFVS that "the magnitude of crashes increase by speed." Drivers who regularly cross state lines also pointed to the patchwork of posted limits as a headache.
Supporters counter that several neighboring states already post 75 miles per hour in rural stretches, and they argue that brings its own confusion when Missouri drops back down. They say the bill would ease those patchwork expectations, according to reporting by KMBC.
Next steps and the price tag
Tracking records show the measure was placed on the Senate's formal calendar on March 2 and could be brought to the floor for a vote in the coming days, according to LegiScan.
A fiscal note prepared for the bill estimates modest State Road Fund costs tied to changing and installing signs, roughly $384,000 in FY2027, and notes the measure is not expected to require major capital improvements, according to the Missouri Senate.
If the Senate approves SB 1408 and the House signs off, the bill would head to the governor to become law. Until then, MoDOT is reminding drivers that current posted limits are still in full effect and that any change would roll out only after agencies have time to update signs and traffic plans.
