An online petition seeking to raise the speed limit on the Garden State Parkway has garnered more than 1,000 signatures within its first few days.
Mendel Rosenfeld, of Lakewood, started the petition Tuesday on
Change.org to raise the speed limit from 65 mph to 75 mph and said he hopes to send it to Gov. Phil Murphy.
He said New Jersey is "way behind" and most drivers on the parkway are already pushing 80 mph.
“By changing the speed limit on the GSP and other New Jersey highways, people will agree to travel further for a job which will lower unemployment rates,” the online petition states.
Speed limits on the Parkway range from 45 mph to 65 mph depending on the location. But many drivers tell News 12 New Jersey that they usually drive faster than that.
“It’s a great idea. This way I’ll always be going the speed limit,” a driver tells News 12.
State Sen. Declan O’Scanlon says that New Jersey’s roads would be a lot safer if speed limits were based on engineering data. He says that the speed limit should be set to whatever speeds 85 percent of drivers are already traveling.
“You set the speed limit at that level, you’ll have overwhelming compliance,” he says.
But some drivers aren’t on board with raising the speed limit.
“They’re all animals. You could raise the speed limits to whatever you want. It’s not going to be enough for them unless you raise it to 90 mph,” says Little Egg Harbor Township resident Vera Papa.
More than 40 states already have speed limits of 70 mph or faster.