Texas - 85-mph speed limit
04-10-2011, 07:52 AM
#1
Texas - 85-mph speed limit
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/...7366L720110407
Texas House OKs 85-mph speed limit, would be nation's highest
Texas House OKs 85-mph speed limit, would be nation's highest
(Reuters) - Rocker Sammy Hagar, who once sang "I Can't Drive 55," might want to move to Texas. The California-born singer may be able to drive 85 miles per hour in the Lone Star State if a measure approved by the Texas House becomes law.
The proposal would allow the Texas Department of Transportation to establish a speed limit not to exceed 85 miles per hour on a part of a state highway system, as long as engineering and safety studies determine the higher speed limit is appropriate.
The measure is a provision of a bill that would eliminate funding for an unpopular toll road project. There is a similar proposal in the Senate.
Eighty-five miles per hour would be the highest posted speed limit in the United States and the second-highest posted speed limit in the world, according to the European auto rental firm Rhino Car Hire. A speed of 140 kilometers per hour, or about 86 mph, is posted on some motorways in Poland.
Texas and Utah are the only states that now allow speed limits of 80 miles per hour. In 2006, 80-mile-per-hour speed limit signs were posted on roads in two remote areas of west Texas. One is a 432-mile stretch of Interstate 10; the other is an 89-mile stretch of Interstate 20.
In Utah, about 40 miles of Interstate 15 has been posted at 80 mph since early 2009.
Gary Biller, executive director of the Wisconsin-based National Motorists Association, said higher speed limits are perfectly reasonable given the good quality of today's highway construction.
"In Utah, after they adjusted from 75 to 80, nothing happened to the accident rate," Biller said. "Actually, nothing happened to the average speed, either; it remained the same."
But Jerry Johns, President of the Southwest Insurance Information Institute, said 85 miles per hour is a bad idea.
"The two things that contribute most to traffic accidents are speed and alcohol," he said.
"The higher the speed limit the more accidents there are, the more injuries, and the more deaths," Johns said.
Under the legislation, the Texas Department of Transportation would have to conduct engineering studies before any highway could be certified for an 85 mph speed limit.
"Should this or similar language become law, the agency would conduct extensive studies and analyses to determine safety and structural integrity before raising the speed limit on any particular highway in the state," said Penny Mason, a spokeswoman for the department.
The proposal would allow the Texas Department of Transportation to establish a speed limit not to exceed 85 miles per hour on a part of a state highway system, as long as engineering and safety studies determine the higher speed limit is appropriate.
The measure is a provision of a bill that would eliminate funding for an unpopular toll road project. There is a similar proposal in the Senate.
Eighty-five miles per hour would be the highest posted speed limit in the United States and the second-highest posted speed limit in the world, according to the European auto rental firm Rhino Car Hire. A speed of 140 kilometers per hour, or about 86 mph, is posted on some motorways in Poland.
Texas and Utah are the only states that now allow speed limits of 80 miles per hour. In 2006, 80-mile-per-hour speed limit signs were posted on roads in two remote areas of west Texas. One is a 432-mile stretch of Interstate 10; the other is an 89-mile stretch of Interstate 20.
In Utah, about 40 miles of Interstate 15 has been posted at 80 mph since early 2009.
Gary Biller, executive director of the Wisconsin-based National Motorists Association, said higher speed limits are perfectly reasonable given the good quality of today's highway construction.
"In Utah, after they adjusted from 75 to 80, nothing happened to the accident rate," Biller said. "Actually, nothing happened to the average speed, either; it remained the same."
But Jerry Johns, President of the Southwest Insurance Information Institute, said 85 miles per hour is a bad idea.
"The two things that contribute most to traffic accidents are speed and alcohol," he said.
"The higher the speed limit the more accidents there are, the more injuries, and the more deaths," Johns said.
Under the legislation, the Texas Department of Transportation would have to conduct engineering studies before any highway could be certified for an 85 mph speed limit.
"Should this or similar language become law, the agency would conduct extensive studies and analyses to determine safety and structural integrity before raising the speed limit on any particular highway in the state," said Penny Mason, a spokeswoman for the department.
04-10-2011, 07:56 AM
#2
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011...h-speed-limit/
AUSTIN, Texas -- The Texas House has given final approval to a bill that could up the speed limit on some highways to 85 mph.
The Texas Senate is considering a similar bill, which would make the state's speed limit the highest in the nation.
The measure by Brenham state Rep. Lois Kolkhorst, which won initial approval Wednesday, is part of a larger transportation bill. Final approval came Thursday.
The bill would authorize the Texas Department of Transportation to raise the speed limit on designated lanes or entire stretches of roadway after doing engineering and traffic studies. Texas currently has more than 500 miles of interstate highways where the speed limit is 80 mph.
Critics have raised safety and fuel-saving concerns.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011...#ixzz1J7mRUos8
The Texas Senate is considering a similar bill, which would make the state's speed limit the highest in the nation.
The measure by Brenham state Rep. Lois Kolkhorst, which won initial approval Wednesday, is part of a larger transportation bill. Final approval came Thursday.
The bill would authorize the Texas Department of Transportation to raise the speed limit on designated lanes or entire stretches of roadway after doing engineering and traffic studies. Texas currently has more than 500 miles of interstate highways where the speed limit is 80 mph.
Critics have raised safety and fuel-saving concerns.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011...#ixzz1J7mRUos8
04-10-2011, 11:55 AM
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That 400+ mile stretch on I-10 is pure boredom. You definitely want to get toyour destination quick. Imagine driving for 5+ hours and you're still not out of Texas yet.
04-10-2011, 05:58 PM
#8
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It's nonsense that you have to drive at 76mph on a solitary straight road, 85 seems more reasonable. Although that's what my average speed probably is on the freeway.
04-10-2011, 06:12 PM
#9
i have driven from Los angeles CA to Corpus Christi TX on the I-10 [for the most part]
boring as hell! although most cars were already speeding to begin with. i was doing 90 without even noticing it. if it wasn't for driving at night, it would have felt like it would take forever!
on the other hand, majority of the freeways here in SoCal most drivers are already doing 80-85 anyways. [excluding rush hour] so it really isn't that big of a problem
Last edited by Twiztog43; 04-10-2011 at 06:17 PM.
04-10-2011, 06:31 PM
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I don't get too far out around Texas, therefore I haven't run into the 80 mph zones. I don't think I've encountered higher than the 70 mph limit around the areas I get to travel.
There are some wide & long stretches of highway just south of downtown Dallas (I-45), where they definitely need to bump the speed up from the current 60-65 mph limit. The speed limit should at least be 75 mph in that type of area. One thing's for sure though, the city makes a good living off of handing out speeding citations over there. I immensely dislike it.
There are some wide & long stretches of highway just south of downtown Dallas (I-45), where they definitely need to bump the speed up from the current 60-65 mph limit. The speed limit should at least be 75 mph in that type of area. One thing's for sure though, the city makes a good living off of handing out speeding citations over there. I immensely dislike it.
04-10-2011, 06:36 PM
#11
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i agree stupid drivers cause problems, not necessarily speed. but the germany reference is a bit naive. they have stricter regulations and much better made cars. AND they grow up around it and they know how to drive/handle a car at that speed. they all strictly obey the left-lane-for-passing-only.
american drivers, in general, are idiots, and our driver's ed courses/tests are a complete joke. we don't know (on average) how to handle a car at 85-90 mph, so until our standards change and our tests become much more rigorous, i think this is a stupid idea.
but again, we're talking about a small minority of affected drivers...this isn't an in-town change or anything.
Last edited by 2tone; 04-11-2011 at 04:51 PM.
04-10-2011, 06:41 PM
#12
For anyone who has driven on the stretches of I-10 west of san antonio... you can fully appreciate why they did this. I'm not sure I'd want an 85 mph limit inside the city.. I've seen how people drive with a 65-70 mph limit and I wouldn't trust a lot of them to drive at higher speeds than they already do. Obviously, most of those drivers aren't adhering to the speed limit anyways... so who knows if they would drive faster. According to the information above, the average wouldn't change. But different areas would probably see different effects.
04-10-2011, 06:57 PM
#13
When referring to Germany and Europe in general people should not forget that through most of Europe people have an ingrained concept of lane discipline (that is you only overtake on the left and if the right lane is available to you - drive in it). In fact overtaking on the right is considered a moral offense 
Unfortunately in North America people think it is their god given right to drive badly - that is to cruise on the left and overtake on the right, apart from other forms of stupidity.
If the population is educated through appropriate changes in the driving rules and attestation, speed limits can be safely increased to 85mph across the board.
Clowns like Jerry Johns (President of the Southwest Insurance Information Institute) are just that clowns, unfortunately the general public is not educated enough on the subject to call him/them on this.
Unfortunately in North America people think it is their god given right to drive badly - that is to cruise on the left and overtake on the right, apart from other forms of stupidity. If the population is educated through appropriate changes in the driving rules and attestation, speed limits can be safely increased to 85mph across the board.
Clowns like Jerry Johns (President of the Southwest Insurance Information Institute) are just that clowns, unfortunately the general public is not educated enough on the subject to call him/them on this.
04-10-2011, 08:05 PM
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I think the cops just give speeding tickets in order to raise revenue for the state. I was watching "Speeders" and they gave a guy a ticket for going 50 in a 35. You mean to tell me that the extra 15 miles an hour made him a reckless driver? It's all a scam. We have people getting shot up in Dorchester and there is no one to help; why? because all the cops are busy camping out like Call of Duty snipers. It's a bunch of......never mind.
Good job Texas
Good job Texas
04-11-2011, 04:43 PM
#18
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It's funny how people in Europe think people in Europe drive so great 
I have been all over this great planet and the roads in the US are very tame compared to most places I have been (including Italy and Germany). There are ******* drivers everywhere.
The only place I could say drivers are very courteous is Japan but again that is based on my own experience and drifting was invented there so who knows,
I have been all over this great planet and the roads in the US are very tame compared to most places I have been (including Italy and Germany). There are ******* drivers everywhere. The only place I could say drivers are very courteous is Japan but again that is based on my own experience and drifting was invented there so who knows,
04-11-2011, 04:50 PM
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i drive in dallas on george bush (70mph) and 121(70mph) very often and both are toll roads but on 121 i cruise control it at 85 on my way to and from work and have passed multiple highway patrol with no problem and im often being passed by people going 90-100. 121 is so wide and smooth that i can easily hit 100 and no one in the vehicle would of guessed i was going that speed.
04-16-2011, 08:43 PM
#23
Won't happen. First, they have to spend a lot of money to conduct test on that stretch of highway. Second, even if it did change to 85 all it would take is a senator's daughter to get in an accident and then they would pass a bill to change it back, or, the Federal government could say hey, we don't like it, change it back or we cut highway repair funds.
04-16-2011, 10:59 PM
#25
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Anyway cool thing on the 85mph.... I95 though RI is 55 =/
