New Zealand commissioned the study because many drivers there are clamoring for higher speed limits. New Zealand's current speed limit is 100 kilometers per hour, or about 62 mph.

The study of U.S. highway statistics found that 1,880 more people died between 1996 and 1999 in the 22 states with high speed limits on rural interstates. The study said the 10 states that raised limits to 75 mph -- all in the Midwest and West -- had 38 percent more deaths per million miles driven than states with 65 mph limits, amounting to about 780 more deaths. The 12 states that raised their limits to 70 mph saw a 35 percent increase, or about 1,100 additional deaths.

Part of the problem, of course, is that many drivers routinely exceed the limit by 5 to 8 mph or more no matter what it is. A review of six states by the institute found that drivers are moving down the road faster than any time since the institute began collecting data in 1987.

For example, in Colorado, which has a 75-mph speed limit, one in four drivers was clocked going more than 80 mph. In California, where the speed limit is 70 mph, one in five drivers was going 80 mph or more.

Speed is not the only factor. This study did not examine the effect that millions more heavy SUVs might have had on the fatality rates. Nor did the study examine the effects of other variables, such as the tendency to drive faster in rural states where cities are farther apart.

But overall, the fatality rate has decreased over the same time period. In fact, it fell each year from 1996 to 1999, from 1.69 deaths per million miles traveled to 1.55 deaths. So, it seems safe to assume that speed played a role in states where higher fatalities and higher speed limits coincided.

The question is whether that fact is disturbing enough for states to lower speed limits. The reality is that safety is not the only factor in determining speed limits. If states wanted to reduce the number of fatalities to zero, they could lower interstate speed limits to 25 mph and enforce the limit with thousands of state troopers patrolling the highways.

But that, of course, is unrealistic. Even the 55 mph speed limit, which, many will recall was instituted to save gasoline during the oil embargo of the '70s, was considered too slow by many. That is what prompted the widespread raising of interstate speed limits.

The cold arithmetic of the New Zealand study indicates that in the 22 states with higher speed limits, an average of about 29 more people died per year than in other states. Is that too high a price to pay for higher speeds?

We doubt that drivers in most states are in any rush to lower highway speed limits. Perhaps the best we can hope for is better enforcement of the speed limits we have.

Study indicates that fatalities have increased as a result of higher speed limits.