Posted on 09/07/2012 4:30:37 PM PDT by JoeProBono
MUSTANG RIDGE, Texas, - Before long, a stretch of Texas toll road will have the nation's highest speed limit -- 85 mph.
Motorists desiring to zip along at that speed legally will only be able to do it about 29 minutes at a time, however. That's how long it will take to traverse the 41-mile section of Texas 130 between Mustang Ridge near Austin to Seguin going 85 mph.
The speed limit approved by the Texas Transportation Commission goes into effect when the toll road is completed, which is expected to be Nov. 11, the Houston Chronicle reported Thursday.
The 85 mph limit will put Texas ahead of Utah, where motorists are allowed to speed along at a maximum of 80 mph, the newspaper said.
Safety is a concern for some.
"Research clearly demonstrates the direct connection between higher speed limits and more fatalities," Russ Rader of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety in Arlington, Va., told the Chronicle. "When speed limits go up, deaths on those roads go up. When speed limits go down, deaths on those roads go down."
Chris Lippincott, a spokesman for the consortium that is building the road, said state transportation officials have determined the highway can be traveled safely at 85 mph.
"We are committed to operating a safe, reliable highway for our customers," Lippincott said. "On any road, drivers hold the key to safety based on traffic, travel conditions and the capabilities of their own vehicles."
Claiming the national speed limit record has already ignited criticism.
"As accidents pile up on on 85-mph roads, so too will insurance claims," said David Snyder of the American Insurance Association in a newspaper editorial last year. "That will lead to increased insurance costs."
How much it will cost for the privilege of driving on the road has yet to be determined.
Safety is the main reason why 85 MPH is appropriate.
Traffic that is slugging along behind a rolling roadblock is never safe.
It makes sense. Long roads, and there are many in Texas can take far too much time to feel any progress being made when you are stuck at 65 like many states or 55 even. I pity such states as they are usually Democratically controlled.
Notice how the Democrat controlled states just steal your freedoms in any way they can. Its all about the power.
Good start. Standard US speed limits are a joke. In Germany you won’t feel comfortable at far right lane at 85 mph on freeway. (Older sunday drivers will hit your rear).
Gee, that’s swell.
Whats the cost per mile?
Something says I’ll be stuck on I35.
No, it doesn't. This road is in the Hill Country near Austin, not out in west Texas where there's nothing around for miles and miles. This will have major traffic. If it's posted 85, they'll be driving 100 mpg. Just imagine the carnage when there's an accident.
I don’t know if it’s true, but I read somewhere that many highways are designed to have traffic drive at speeds higher the the posted 55 or 65.
Oklahoma’s I-44 has been 85 for years (unofficially.)
The kicker is that they lowered the speed on U.S. 183[non toll] from 65 to 55. Surprise, the toll road company helped ‘decide’ that was for safety and not to spur people onto the toll road. Lol.
Ugh, I know. Living in Kansas with the excellent road conditions, long flat straightaways, and gentle curves, there are parts where one could comfortably travel over 100mph.
U.S. 183 parallels part of the toll road.
... and 85 means 100!!! Bting it on.
I40 in AZ runs 85+ all day and night dispite the 75 posted limit. No more or fewer accidents than one would expect on a major freeway.
Modern cars cruise at 85 like old ones did at 40...and do it safer thanks to better handling/suspensions.
LOL! Its true!
I can’t do 75 in a 75.
We have farm to market roads in Tx that are 70.
My memory is not to be trusted these days, but a few years ago I came crossed Texas on I-10, and sure seem to remember a long stretch of it being 85 mph. I was towing, and couldn’t go over 60.
Historical note: When the Pennsylvania Turnpike opened, the first divided highway in America, it had NO speed limit. Signs at the entrance gates merely said, "please drive carefully."
“there are parts where one could comfortably travel over 100mph.”
NSS! I used to do 130 between Chattanooga and Nashville,,,, if the truckers told me there were no speed traps. At about 90, the LS 400 just sucked down onto the road!
And those FM’s are well maintained and have paved shoulders that the slow movers can pull over on “at speed” to let the fast movers pass on by!
All major highways in the US are designed for 85 MPH.
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