Yes!
The death rates in those states will go up proportionally, especially if semi-trucks are given the same limits and unlimited lane usage.
That means that if you think you can cross over from Ohio to Indiana on I70 and immediately go 70MPH, you are probably going to leave a lot of your suspension in the chuckholes.
I like to go fast like everyone else, but going fast also does one other thing... Waste gas... with oil over $60 a barrel not sure if this makes sense.
It's been 75 around here for yrs
Looks like me and Harley need to go for a road trip to Texas.
This means that people will spend less time getting to where they want to go - thus saving gas! ;o)
Thank goodness. 65mph makes driving through Iowa painfully slow.
The MA State Police actually admitted in public that traffic safety INCREASED when they raised the speed limit on the MA Turnpike. Why they're cutting into their own shakedown revenue in these states I don't understand.
Hell, here in Indy on I-465 I do 70 all the time. 55 is posted, and have had troopers/sheriff's pass me. Everyone on 465 does 70. Not a rural road.
Will they also increase the NIGHT speed limits in Texas?
Driving through Iowa is like being in reverse hyper-space. It takes an immeasurably long period of time to travel immeasuarbly short distances.
Awesome. Too bad my upcoming roadtrip takes me through Texas on I-40. But there's always next year. :-)
"This new limit better reflects the actual speed of cars on rural highways which averages 69.8 MPH according to sensors embedded into the pavement."
70 MPH should be in the range most rural highway speed limits should be , but 80 MPH is a bit high IMO.
When I travel across this country I stay in the 70 to 75 MPH range most often and very rarely does someone pass me. I tend to spend alot of time in and out of the inside lane, passing slower cars on the right.
The problem now is how this new speed limit will be enforced. I am guessing no more 10 MPH buffer zone with the troopers.
It won`t change my driving habits with these new limits, but I am afraid some people will think it will now be safe to do 85-90 with an 80 MPH speed limit. Looks like I will have to watch my rearview mirror a little closer now in some of these states.
Did Eaker have a chat with the Governor?
They could raise the limit on our roads all they want. Our vehicles would just bounce off the pavement into the ditch all the quicker.
Yes!
Hold muh beer and watch this...
Not *****ing up in a 75-80mph flow of moderate to heavy traffic is asking too much of the average US driver. All the more so at night or in inclement weather. 55-65mph in those conditions is already quite bad enough, another 10mph will mean even more wrecks and deaths.
But the same 75mph that is lethally fast during the workday commute is ludicrously slow in good conditions and off hours or rural areas with low traffic.
The problem here is that a fixed speed limit is fundamentally flawed. Over the course of an average day, changing traffic and weather conditions will vary the safe and reasonable maximum speed for any given roadway by a factor of at least 2 if not 3.
Putting a single number on a road is a compromise that is simply wrong for almost any given road condition. Tweaking that limit up or down will make it even more wrong for some driving conditions.
That said, as long as we are stuck with this fundamentally unworkable system, I'd rather it err on the side of freedom to kill ourselves than to pay more money to the king's highwaymen. Baby steps in the right direction.
AN ACT relating to the speed limit on certain highways in rural counties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 545.353, Transportation Code, is amended by adding Subsection (h-1) and amending Subsections (h) and (i) to read as follows:
(h) Notwithstanding Section 454.352(b), the commission may establish a speed limit of 75 miles per hour in daytime on a part of the highway system if:
(1) the commission determines that 75 miles per hour in daytime is a reasonable and safe speed for that part of the highway system; and
(2) that part of the highway is located in a county with a population density of less than 15 persons per square mile.
(h-1) Notwithstanding Section 545.352(b), the commission may establish a speed limit of 80 miles per hour in daytime on a part of Interstate Highway 10 or Interstate Highway 20 in Crockett, Culberson, Hudspeth, Jeff Davis, Kerr, Kimble, Pecos, Reeves, Sutton, or Ward County if the commission determines that 80 miles per hour in daytime is a reasonable and safe speed for that part of the highway.
(i) The speed limits authorized by Subsections (h) and (h-1) do not apply to:
(1) trucks, other than light trucks and light trucks pulling a trailer; and
(2) truck tractors, trailers, and semitrailers.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2005.
If you've ever driven from El Paso to San Antonio, then you know why they want to make that stretch of I-10 80 mph. There's absolutely nothing out there.