Posted on 12/14/2020 6:56:54 AM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
Honestly, regardless of what the official speed limits are, I can’t imagine that in reality that in those sparsely populated plain and western states, people aren’t averaging well above them in the rural areas no matter what they are.
I think Montana has it. Other states are 75. In our car going 80 is no problem. In the RV we prefer 55 - 65 and just stay in the right lane with the trucks.
"...speed limits..."
They used to have that on some sections of Montana interstate, something about “reasonable and prudent”. Then after what had to be some horrible accidents, they reduced the speed limit on these interstates to 75 mph, and also reduced the limits on some other rural roads to 65 or 70.
German tourists would come to Montana in order to drive the “reasonable and prudent” sections of the interstates, like they were American Autobahns.
“They used to have that on some sections of Montana interstate, something about “reasonable and prudent””
Back in the day, I had a Navy buddy from Montana. It was 50 miles from his farm to the nearest ‘watering hole’.
Actually no, not really at all, not in the usual, traditional terms of "Indian Reservations".
There IS a 9th grade Oklahoma public school history lesson here, which I'll spare you, but to your question:
SOME of the highways in Oklahoma ARE under the jurisdiction of some of the tribes, but honestly I couldn't tell you where any of the interstate highways are. So far as I know, the Interstate highways, which includes all the toll highways, are under OHP's jurisdiction.
Just hypothetically, drive from DFW north on I-35 to the Kansas border, and you won't be under the legal jurisdiction of any of the tribes unless you stop at a casino and get in trouble.
(Just to make things a bit more complicated, because of a recent SCOTUS ruling, any Oklahoman ANYWHERE who is a member of a tribe, and commits a crime - is headed to tribal court. Which according to some I've talked to, is worse than going to "regular" district court. The tribes don't like criminals either - which may have something to do with your original question. But I don't believe this applies for traffic tickets. We're talking misdemeanors and felonies here.)
With the OHP on the job, driving faster than the mainstream of the traffic is a good way to get a polite speeding ticket. So I've been told...
Oh yeah this is also true on the "Indian highway" that runs from the Cimarron Turnpike north to Ponca City. The tribal police are in charge of some of that particular state highway, and they have radar guns too...
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.
I remember reading somewhere that the original Interstates were designed for 85 mph traffic.
It is already 80 on large part of Indian Nations turnpike
We already have 80mph on I15 in much of Utah. It is freaking great. 3 1/2 hours from SLC south to Nevada.
When I think about driving 80 all the time back in the 60s with drum brakes, bias ply tires, soft suspensions, etc with today’s cars and trucks it’s trivial.
Ever run around beltway 8 in Houston during the wee hours of the morning?
“it’s not just a one-size-fits-all approach.”
Yes it is. And it has so little meaning in comparison to the loss of lives on public roads due to the inability of the drivers.
According to the Montana Department of Transportation, there were 184 fatalities in 2019. There have been 191 fatalities on Montana highways in 2020 compared to 177 fatalities for this same time in 2019.
Consider this, the difference in time is so little it really is an excuse to kill people. Since 60 mph, is a mile a minute, then 80 miles an hour, is 45 seconds a mile. So if you save 15 seconds a mile, and you drive 100 miles, you’ll be saving 1500 seconds, or 25 minutes. But most people don’t drive more than 10 miles a trip, so that means in 10 miles, you save 150 seconds which equates to 2 1/2 minutes to possibly drive faster than you or the people around you can handle.
Hardly worth it. 75 may be too fast already. And the difference between 75 and 80 is around 5 seconds a mile. So that 10 mile trip saves you around 50 seconds difference from what they already have. Less than a minute...we all have time to die.
wy69
Yes, the interstate system was designed for 1950’s cars to be able to go 85 mph. These were automobiles without independent suspensions or computerized AWD. No disk brakes. Without electronic rack & pinion steering. Not to mention the improvements in tires themselves. Basically, cars were a lot less safe at higher speeds.
Now, my wife’s 2018 Honda CRV will slow you down and warn you when it senses that vehicles in front of you have slowed down. My buddies Tesla basically drives itself at 90 mph.
The only real issue is road maintenance. The fact is the autobahn roads were built with much more base depth than the interstate highway system in the US. Therefore, they are not subject to as much frost heaves. Also, do not even think about getting in that left lane of the Autobahn unless you are going 100 mph+.
The biggest problem with driving out west on highways and even back east in states like PA are high speed collisions with deer, elk, moose, etc. I have had moose walk right across the highway in front of me in north New Hampshire. The last thing you wan to hit is an 1100 pound animal that is going to land right on your windshield.
Most Oklahoma highway speeds are self-regulating for the sane who don’t want to destroy their cars from the pot holes and pavement break ridges. There was a gap or ridge at a bridge on I-40 so bad that half-dozen cars were damaged so badly they had to be towed and emergency road repairs made.
Texas generally has quality roads.
Some areas are already 80.
It’s great to set the cruise at 90mph.
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