Posted on 02/20/2015 9:47:18 AM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
The top speed on some Maryland highways could go to 70 miles per hour under a bill passed by the Senate Thursday.
The measure carried by a vote of 39 to 7, with dissenters warning increasing speed limits could cause more crashes and traffic fatalities.
Sen. George C. Edwards, a Garrett County Republican and the bill's sponsor, said the bill authorizes but does not require the State Highway Administration to raise speed limits on some interstates and expressways. Most interstate highways are built to handle vehicles going 70 miles per hour, he said, noting that neighboring Pennsylvania and West Virginia already have that as their top speed.
"Most people go what they consider a safe speed," Edwards said.
But Sen. James Brochin, a Baltimore County Democrat, warned that speed is often a factor in traffic crashes and fatalities. He argued that many drivers already go up to 75 or 76 mph now on highways with 65-mph speed limits, believing they can go that fast and avoid getting a speeding ticket. Raising the limit to 70 mph will encourage those drivers to go 81 or 82 mph, Brochin predicted.
I didn’t think a /sarc tag would be necessary. lol
Personally, I don’t think there should be speed limits, with exception for certain areas. Schools, residential areas, ect.
Yeah, we Marylanders finally got 65 in 1997, nine long years after the first Reagan-era allowing of 65 on rural interstates.
This is amazing. I remember in the 1960s as a Marine trying to get home for a weekend when we drove through Maryland we knew if we went over by a mile in some stretches of road we would get hauled in and jacked up for money. This is truly amazing; I wish I could see some of my buddies faces on their hearing this!
Possibly I-70 between Mt. Airy and the 40-70 split west of Baltimordor — lots of straightaways there. Also, perhaps, I-70 between Hagerstown and Hancock. That’s pretty easy driving.
And don’t discount the eight-lane stretch of I-95 between the DC and Baltimordor Beltways.
Bad/inattentive drivers do....
Actually, from what I've seen in analysis of such things, it's differences in speed that causes accidents. That's why there is a minimum speed on most interstates.
A while back when Montana changed their interstate speed limit from a hard number to "reasonable and proper", the overall speed increased, but fatalities actually dropped, because people are actually better judges of what R&P is than you'd think. If everyone is driving 90 mph, the road is no less safe than if everyone is driving 60 mph. What causes problems is when you get some bozo poking along at 50 when everyone around him is doing 90. That 40 mph difference is what causes problems.
Won't phase them a bit..
Driving down the New York Thruway (AKA I-87) where the posted limit is 65, actual morning rush hour speed is 80. In a three lane section in Rockland county while I was in the middle lane on autopilot, er, cruise control and keeping pace with the traffic flow, I was passed by a female driving a big GMC SUVthing. She was reading something that she had spread open on her steering wheel, talking on a cell phone she had wedged to her ear with her left shoulder, and reaching over to her right to type on a laptop/tablet thingie. And not to engage a stereotype, but she WAS blonde - whether causative of her driving prowess or not I have no idea..
I graciously allowed her to continue whizzing down the left lane in that fashion until she dissapeared in the distance.
The shavers and the make up artists will carry on...
Hey Red...
Now you can get to the congestion faster.. ;-)
Exactly!!
Hell... There should be a MINIMUM speed of 60mph for cars. Anyone going under gets a ticket, as a speeder would get today. Of course, this can’t apply to trucks, ect.
Utah has 80mph speed limits. They have found that drivers don’t push up to 90 - they seem to level off around 82 - 84mph. Still.. sh!t happens really fast at those speeds.
Yesterday it was so windy in Maryland that drivers were actually driving at the speed limit. Freaky!
Automakers need to invent some kind of jamming device that knocks out wireless service inside the vehicle at speeds over 40, even for Bluetooth-enabled cars. Even hands-free, talking on the phone is incredibly distracting — and texting? Fuggedaboudidd.
Wow, are you all right? Close shave! I had that happen with a bus in Manhattan with my 3-year-old in the car. People on the bus were screaming at the driver to stop! Thankfully, or I might not be here typing today.
I-70 from Baltimore to points west.
Interesting, thus it excludes I-270, I-70, and I-68, the latter two that are through western Maryland.
In my part of the state yes. LOL!
Wow,Texas is a mish-mash of speed limits.
.
70 seems dangerous.
45 would be much safer, not to mention generating huge revenue from speeding tickets.
Do it “for the children”
Yep, from rural, congested areas, to limit access roads the speed limits vary.
There seems to be a “comfort level” as to driving speed on an open road.
A natural “speed” that people fall into.
It depends on the car they are driving.
I went from Washington DC to Chicago in 10 hours.
I averaged 72 MPH door to door with two rest breaks and one speeding ticket.
Ohio was great since at the time I70 was under construction and had “Jersey walls” for miles and miles on end. No place for the Troopers to set up.
Driving a 1994 Cadillac STS.
Loved that car.
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