Texas House OKs 85-mph speed limit, would be nation's highest

[seftonm]

Rocker Sammy Hagar, who once sang "I Can't Drive 55," might want to move to Texas. The California-born singer may soon be able to drive 85 miles per hour in the Lone Star State.

Jim Forsyth - REUTERS - April 7, 2011

How fast is too fast? --Ed.

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.... [Read More]

[e90diesel]

I prefer to drive at 55-60 mph for mpg. Imagine trying to do that in a 85 mph zone. Probably would get cited for impeding traffic. What a waste.

[Earthling]

70 mph is too high. 85 mph limit is irresponsible, unjustifiable, and will waste huge amounts of fuel, and some lives...

Harry

[rfruth]

Yes its a waste but it will help line the pockets of big oil - 85 MPH is way too fast, half the drivers aren't that great at 55

[Chuck]

Texas already has a 80mph speed limit, but think it's only on I20 out in west Texas, so I wonder if the 85mph limit will also be in isolated places out there.

There is a law outlawing sodomy in Texas....there are more recent laws that were passed mainly to make a statement on various social issues - not so much to enforce. I suspect half the motivation of the 85mph speed limit is a statement "We don't believe in Climate Change or Peak Oil."

[ALS]

Being I have never been west of Chicago or Indianapolis I can't prejudge what it is like to drive in Texas or other large states in the west. Being I have and do a lot of driving on the east coast, other than I-75 on the west coast of Florida I've have never seen a need for a speed limit over 65 mph. I-75 by the way has a 70 mph speed limit.

I don't think we have to worry about the flow of traffic running 85 mph across Texas with gas approaching $4.00 a gallon.

If I took I-10 out of San Antonio and drove to Ciudad Juarez (520 miles) at 85 mph I would get to my destination in two hours and forty five minutes sooner than at 70 mph. On the other hand I could easily make the trip in my Volvo on one tank of gas with the AC running. At 85 mph I would have to stop for gas at least 100 miles from my destination.

[phoebeisis]

The speed limit on I-10 between San Antonio and El Paso has been 80 mph for many years.

We drove it in 2007- in a Honda Pilot- a reasonable stable SUV- nice wide stance, not too tall- wheels/tires 235/70 16- .

80 mph was not a safe comfortable speed for that above average handling SUV. At anything more than about 73 mph you could feel its unhappiness. When you made any sharp steering corrections( to avoid road debris) it would bob, dip and in general feel unsafe unhappy.

Our current SUV- 1998 Suburban 235/75 15 tires( much lower stance than average SUV) is distinctly unhappy when you make sharp steering inputs at anything over 63 mph.This is with aftermarket Bilstein stiffer than OEM shocks on it (yes they adversely effect comfort on our crummy city streets).

My point- good cars with low stances, good brakes, properly inflated tires(high 30's cold) are probably reasonable at 80 mph. However in TX about 40% of the vehicles are SUVs Pickups and other truck like vehicles that don't handle well at anything over 70 mph.

Everyone has had to make sharp steering corrections- most of us aren't good enough drivers to over ride our impulses and not make a correction (to avoid road debris, or a dog, or a deer or a coyote). If you think you can decide- in a split second-that it is safer to hit a deer rather than make a sharp steering input that will kill you -at 80 mph-you are a Formula 1 driver- or a liar.

80 mph too fast for pickups/SUVs etc.

[echoman]

Here in ontario the limit is 100 kph about 60 mph. I think that is a good speed. I can drive at 90 kph if i want and not really slow traffic down. Transport trucks are governed at 105 kph as well.

[Earthling]

Originally Posted by echoman

Here in ontario the limit is 100 kph about 60 mph. I think that is a good speed. I can drive at 90 kph if i want and not really slow traffic down. Transport trucks are governed at 105 kph as well.

Agreed. Post the limit at 60 mph. Let the go-fast crowd do 65 or 70 mph. Ticket anyone above that. At least then the hypermilers can have a more relaxed ride while saving all of us fuel.

Harry

[corvette]

We have 81 mph (130 km/h) on virtually all of our "highways". That means two lanes where the right one is occupied by trucks and trailers doing 56 mph (must not go faster). Also some vans and slower drivers.

Left lane can be OK when not in popular time zones - in the morning and after work Sometimes it's a mess because there are drivers who would love to drive 150+ kph (95 mph) and there are others who like to drive 110-120 kph max. (62-75 mph).

Did I mention those are two lane highways with build quality worse than for example French mountain passes on 2000 m altitude?