The data are still being sifted and analyzed, but Pennsylvania's one-year experiment with a higher speed limit on rural stretches of interstates and the Pennsylvania Turnpike points to one conclusion: The 70 mph limit is here to stay.

That undoubtedly will lead to the higher limit on other sections of limited-access highways, although it isn't expected to show up in the Lehigh Valley, whose primary problem is traffic congestion that keeps outpacing capacity and expansion.And for now, New Jersey's maximum speed limit remains 65 mph, although some legislators perennially call for higher limits on parts of the interstates and toll roads.The case for the higher limit in Pennsylvania makes sense as a convergence of human behavior and safety studies that show no significant increase in speeding and incidence of crashes. Since last summer, Penn State researchers have been looking at three stretches of highways selected for the 70 mph test program 97 miles of the turnpike in the south-central part of the state, 88 miles of Interstate 80, and 16 miles of Interstate 380 in northeastern Pennsylvania.The results? A whole lot of nothing, which is good news for those who want the extra 5 mph of legality.The Penn State analysis of crash and speed data found no significant overall increases in speeds for either cars or trucks.The percentage of vehicles going faster than the posted limit went down by about a third, researchers said.That's not surprising, given that the limit went up, but it does tend to confirm that 70 is closer to the range that most people are driving, and that the 5-mph increase doesn't simply push speeding to a new level."An industry standard is to post speeds within 5 mph of what roughly 85 percent of the traffic is doing, or lower," said PennDOT spokesman Rich Kirkpatrick. "For example, we would not post a 30 mph speed limit on an interstate, because the difference between the limit and actual motorists' speeds would be too great and actually reduce safety."Well, yeah.There's no way to completely erase differences in driver speeds that create conflicts on high-speed roads, but PennDOT and the Turnpike Commission are attempting to move the limit closer to reality. The higher rate isn't going to be considered for urban areas, PennDOT says, which would include Routes 22 and 33 and Interstate 78 in the Lehigh Valley.Higher speeds bring shortened reaction time and longer braking distances, as the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reminds us in its argument against the higher limits.The trade-off is that setting the legal limit closer to actual average speeds can make for a steadier flow and fewer panicky slowdowns for speed traps. If the safety figures continue to hold up, PennDOT and the Turnpike Commission will consider making 70 mph the norm where it makes sense.The surprise isn't that most people will be going faster, but that hardly anyone will notice.Lehigh Valley Live