Posted on 12/14/2020 6:56:54 AM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority on Tuesday will consider raising the maximum speed limits to 80 mph on rural portions of some turnpikes.
The current maximum speed limit is 75 mph.
Among the areas proposed for the change is a 13-mile stretch of the Turner Turnpike in Creek County, from milepost 203 to milepost 216, within the newly constructed six-lane section that extends from Sapulpa to 6 miles east of Bristow.
The recent passage of House Bill 1071 set the stage for statewide studies on potential maximum speed limit increases to 80 mph on rural turnpikes and 75 mph on rural interstates that are not turnpikes.
The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority and the Oklahoma Transportation Commission considered several factors, including roadway geometry, sight distance, collision history, traffic flows, tolling operations, roadway surface and existing speed patterns before making their recommendations.
Existing maximum speed limits in urban areas will not change but could be considered in the future.
“We appreciate that our legislators recognized safety concerns needed to be forefront in this process,” said Oklahoma Transportation Secretary Tim Gatz. “Any increase in speed limits on interstates or highways must be carefully considered to ensure safety, and it’s not just a one-size-fits-all approach.”
(Excerpt) Read more at tulsaworld.com ...
I’ve found you get slack up to 10mph over.
I think the HiPo’s have a beeper when someone goes 11 over.
You need to understand that these Turnpikes are private roads and the HiPo’s only have authority via contract, not state law. If the Turnpike Authority chose to, they could cancel the contract and we’d have an autobahn.
If the Turnpike Authority chose to, they could cancel the contract and we’d have an autobahn.
“The Prius is a small cross section (low and narrow) and quite aerodynamic, and doesn’t take a lot of power to go that fast.
I saw one guy posted a screen shot of 29mpg at 100mph on level ground.”
He maneuvered through a cluster of about ten cars. Everyone gave the idiot space. I was in the left lane and he passed me in the center lane.
I am sure he didn’t realize how unsafe a Prius is at 100+ mph, especially in traffic.
Now you’ve done it, I got that Kraftwerk song in my head now.
Not a lot of crush zone, LOL
Yeah. With 50s suspensions, brakes and drum brakes.
That used to be true in Montana. The libs fixed that though. They don’t like people travelling fast. It’s harder load them on boxcars that way.
When Montana instituted speed limits, fatalities increased.
If driving cross-country, 80 versus 60 can save you hours per day. This can result in less night-time driving and more rest time.
Dittoes! I live in the Hill Country. Driving 75 on a narrow 2 lane rural road in fair condition with no shoulders and lots of hill and curves?
No thanks.
The road maintenance part is important, I agree. Not too bad here in Arizona, mostly, but there are still some rough spots here and there. I just go with the speed of the surrounding traffic, and avoid the bad pavement once I know where it is.
Never have driven in Germany, though I’ve ridden as a passenger on the Autobahn.
It is already 80 on large part of Indian Nations turnpike
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Which I do not understand. I was on that turnpike in October. It was under construction. Down to half closed - drive on the other side. 45mph.
Oklahoma roads are BAD. Expressways and toll roads. Even when they are not under construction - they should be.
And 50s tires, don’t forget. As for brakes, you shouldn’t have to use them much on an interstate.
There was a better attitude toward risk back then, I think. People didn’t expect that someone else would protect them from all danger at all time.
We travel it every week. It was almost completely open last week. Eventually they’ll start replacing that old median again.
We drive 34 miles of it each week.... from I-40 to McAlester exit.
I went through the turnpike without stopping to pay. I figured they would bill me. Like they do in Texas where I live.
Instead they mailed me a nice reminder that without a toll pass, I must stop at the toll booth to pay. And they did not bill me.
Which was nice.
I was on the section from Innsbruck, Austria going south to Italy. I had a guy pass me in a Mercedes like I was standing still.
It reminded me of when they take a normal car around Daytona Speedway going 65 mph. Then have a NASCAR pass them going 150+. It looks like they were standing still.
Funny thing I noticed driving an RV: 5 mph made a HUGE difference in fuel used. 60 mph got ~7-8 mpg. 55 mph got 10-12 mpg. I started driving at a considerably reduced rate after that discovery. I just started 20 minutes earlier, and drove 20 minutes longer and got there more relaxed.
Same here. At 65 ours gets about 5 mpg. At 55 it gets 9 to 11, depending on head winds. The difference is at 65 it drops down one or two gears with engine RPM significantly up, which is why it’s using so much gas.
We do not mind spending the extra money on gas, the reason we slow down is fewer gas stops. Slowing down and gas stops both waste time, but we found out slowing down wastes less time and can cover more miles in a day. It’s also less stressful driving at the slower speeds and not trying to find gas in the middle of nowhere every few hours.
“If driving cross-country, 80 versus 60 can save you hours per day.”
I’ve driven across the US a number of times with my moving with my job. Problem is you can only save that few seconds a mile when you can go that fast. With towns, lowered speed limits, mountains, and possible car or weather problems, you can’t average that speed. ‘Bout the best I did was still under 50 with all the roadblocks. That 80 is good when you can to save about 20 seconds a mile.
Additionally, if you look at a map, it varies with location. If you want to drive from the northeast to Los Angeles, You might see 80 in Nevada if you go a little north of 10 that goes into east LA. But that’s probably the only state. And if you are coming from Florida to California in the southern route, (10), the highest you’ll see is 75 around Texas. Lot of variables that slow you down.
wy69
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