State Sen. Declan O’Scanlon — who I believe should win the award for Most Common Sense, New Jersey legislature division — is at it again. This time, he wants to raise New Jersey’s speed limits. Well, he wants to do it again. He first floated this idea almost a decade ago as a member of the Assembly, and he’s trying to get it back off the ground. Why? Common sense. In fact, he’s calling his legislation the “Speed Limit Sanity Act” and it would make the speed limit on New Jersey’s limited access roads — you know, like the Turnpike, Parkway, etc. — at 85% of the speed at which everyone is already driving. In short: If passed the bill would have the state run a four-month test on the highways. Whatever speed 85% of the population is driving at, that’s the new speed limit. And this cuts the other way as well: The minimum speed limit would be at the 67 percentile. This makes so much sense, it kind of hurts. To wit: I bet if they run this test, they’ll find the “85%” number to be around 75 MPH, which is reasonable. How do I know it’s reasonable? Have you ever been driving on the highway, and see a state trooper going the speed limit — 65 MPH? Yeah, me too. And what happens? Everyone slows down like they’re in a funeral procession, and all of a sudden, going 65 MPH feels like you’re standing still. Of course, the naysayers will naysay, and I’m sure the word “safety!” is going to be tossed about, but really, it certainly seems that people driving 75 MPH and under control are not the cause of accidents. It’s the dipshizzes that are weaving in and out of traffic, the ones going 100 MPH and more, the ones that — if I were dictator — would face attempted murder charges for driving like that. Those people are the problem, not the average driver doing 75 in the center lane, rolling with traffic. Furthermore, I highly doubt that people will start driving 85 MPH if the limit is raised to 75 MPH. That’s not the way it works. Most people — dare I say 85% or more? — do not want to drive like a maniac. They’re perfectly happy just motoring along, minding their business, driving like a human being. Bottom line? People are already driving 75 MPH as a rule, so let’s — you know — just go ahead and make it the rule. Allow sanity to prevail. And think about it from a law enforcement perspective: When speed limits are artificially low, it puts police in an awkward position. They either have to ignore widespread “violations” that aren’t actually dangerous, or waste resources ticketing safe drivers just because they’re following the natural flow of traffic. O’Scanlon’s approach would align the law with reality. Data shows that crash risk is lowest when drivers travel at speeds close to the median flow of traffic. It’s the outliers — both extremely slow and dangerously fast drivers — that cause problems. (And let’s not get me started on the slow drivers. Just please, for the love of Mario Andretti, get over into the right-hand lane.) Anyway, this bill isn’t about enabling speeders. It’s about acknowledging that our current limits are outdated. When laws don’t match common sense, they breed disrespect for all traffic regulations. By setting realistic limits, we can focus enforcement on truly dangerous drivers — the ones who deserve those red and blue lights in their rearview mirror.