When the National Maximum Speed Limit law was repealed in 1995, the idea was that states would set their own limits, and people would be more faithful in following the higher ones.

Yeah, right.

As USA Today reported Feb. 23, more people are not only going faster on the interstates but exceeding even the higher speed limits by more in widespread acts of civil disobedience. (That is, if blatantly violating the law for no good reason is being civil.)

The report found the following: Limits have been raised by as much as a third over the past decade, but the margin above the limit is even more than before.

There’s also more leeway from the police, who still don’t do much until drivers exceed the limit by 10 or 15 mph. In Lead Foot Nation, “many drivers regard the posted limit as a minimum, not the maximum.”

I have to agree. I’ve seen it. It’s like the words “Speed Limit” are in hieroglyphics. I tend to hover around that number, except when it’s physically impossible (read: doing 80 around Chicago to avoid being run over).

But I am in the minority, a fact made visible when I am the only one in a group of cars to slow down approaching Nevada, or when I’m on the freeways and seem to be walking.

In Iowa, drivers see “80” as the speed they can go, not the number of the road they’re on.

When the police do something about it, the reaction is more often than not met with scorn. It almost invariably seems to become “How dare that officer write me a ticket! Surely he has more important things to do than fine me for breaking the law!”

Drivers in this country need to get it through their heads: Driving 10 mph, or more, over the limit is not a God-given right. You are breaking the law and deserve whatever gets thrown at you.

“The limit is artificially low,” the leaded drivers complain. If the limit is artificially low, maybe it’s to keep the traffic from going artificially high.

If signs saying 65 keep the drivers at 75, it is by no means an ideal solution, but it at least sort of works. It seems the only rationale for raising the speed limit is to allow drivers to go even faster in Iowa. The Legislature should not consider raising the speed limit until the people of Iowa consider driving the speed limit. I see no cause to believe that, if changed to 70, people would actually pay attention.

Arizona TV station KGUN reports that state’s legislature is considering raising the interstate limit to 80. However, in 1999 the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety showed a 15 percent rise in fatal crashes in states that raised their speed limit by 5 mph. At least out West there is less traffic and less to hit, but Arizona may well be giving the green light to drivers who want to cruise at 90 and pass at faster speeds.

The report in USA Today, and crash statistics, show the speed limit may be a perfect example of when a law should not necessarily change just because people disobey it. The states changed the law. What happened? People went faster and faster.

Nothing is going to change until there are real punishments involved. Congressman Bill Janklow, R-S.D., blew through a stop sign on a rural road at 71 mph and killed Randy Scott of Hardwick, Minn. Janklow was charged with second-degree manslaughter.

If a driver causes an accident while traveling more than 10 mph over the limit, and someone dies, the charge should instantly be a Class B felony vehicular homicide, equivalent to someone causing death by vehicle while intoxicated.

For regular incidents, fines should be increased, and officers should resist the temptation to mark the ticket as anything less than the drivers’ actual speed.

Perhaps a system like Finland’s would be workable, with charges proportional to drivers’ income. In February, millionaire Jussi Salonoja was fined approximately $214,000 for speeding. Either way, heftier fines would improve both driving conditions and state funds.

When the Greek philosopher Socrates was in prison, he talked his friend out of escape, saying, “Do you imagine that any state can continue and not be overturned, when the decisions of law have no power, but are ignored by individuals?” Socrates’ argument applies well to this situation.

Too many people believe the speed limit is arbitrary and unfair, therefore they should ignore it. The power of the law to ensure public safety is weakened with every action by those who think the law doesn’t, or shouldn’t, apply to them.