85 mph speed limit in Texas!

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Yeah, this is kinda old news for those of us who live here.

It will only be roads in the middle of nowhere that nobody ever travels that will get raised to 85.

Shoot the tollways being built out in North Dallas are 70mph speed limits, and that is pretty darn fast for most cars.

I can only imagine that at 85 you really start losing your gas mileage due to wind resistance.
 
Originally Posted By: SuperDave456
Yeah, this is kinda old news for those of us who live here.

It will only be roads in the middle of nowhere that nobody ever travels that will get raised to 85.

Shoot the tollways being built out in North Dallas are 70mph speed limits, and that is pretty darn fast for most cars.

I can only imagine that at 85 you really start losing your gas mileage due to wind resistance.


That does not affect drivers in Arizona.
 
BMWTurbodzl: I'm all for raising that speed limit between Atlanta and B'ham, especially when I'm driving my wife's 530i.
 
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I bet folks will be doing more like 95-100 mph. Scary to contemplate some of the hoopties doing more than 65-70 mph. I can't imagine a lifted pickup doing 100 mph. That sounds like a recipe for disaster, at least to me. A sudden lane change at 85 mph would send pickups and SUV's rolling like tin cans.

With the right car, 85 mph is totally fine. Cars designed for Autobahn use would do fine.
 
does not make a lot of sense to me. 70mph is fast enough to get where you are going. people in my neck of the woods stink at driving over 65 at 85 they would all be doing over that speed limit too, while texting reading the paper ( yes I have seen people doing that while driving ) etc ....
 
Originally Posted By: dave1251
Originally Posted By: SuperDave456
Yeah, this is kinda old news for those of us who live here.

It will only be roads in the middle of nowhere that nobody ever travels that will get raised to 85.

Shoot the tollways being built out in North Dallas are 70mph speed limits, and that is pretty darn fast for most cars.

I can only imagine that at 85 you really start losing your gas mileage due to wind resistance.


That does not affect drivers in Arizona.

You mean the laws of physics do not apply to Arizona?
 
Drove on the Interstates in West Texas a couple years ago, and the Speed Limit was 80 only West of Kerrville on I-10 and West of Midland/Odessa on I-20.

Sure, you can go fast, but I love to take the "blue roads" and I often take US-380 from Denton or Bridgeport to Roswell when I'm not in a hurry. Also love lonely roads, such as NM-246 between Capitan and Roswell. God help you if you break down on that road. No Cell Phone coverage and cars are few and far between.

Those high speeds really eat up the tires, not to mention the gas.
 
Originally Posted By: rainman49
BMWTurbodzl: I'm all for raising that speed limit between Atlanta and B'ham, especially when I'm driving my wife's 530i.
BMW's really do settle in at about 90-85.
 
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: dave1251
Originally Posted By: SuperDave456
Yeah, this is kinda old news for those of us who live here.

It will only be roads in the middle of nowhere that nobody ever travels that will get raised to 85.

Shoot the tollways being built out in North Dallas are 70mph speed limits, and that is pretty darn fast for most cars.

I can only imagine that at 85 you really start losing your gas mileage due to wind resistance.


That does not affect drivers in Arizona.

You mean the laws of physics do not apply to Arizona?


Not enough for "drivers" to keep everything from tractor trailers to sub compacts under 85 MPH in a 55 MPH zone.
 
Originally Posted By: matrass
does not make a lot of sense to me. 70mph is fast enough to get where you are going. people in my neck of the woods stink at driving over 65 at 85 they would all be doing over that speed limit too, while texting reading the paper ( yes I have seen people doing that while driving ) etc ....


It makes perfect sense. The 80 (now 85) mph speed limit cuts alot of time off of the trip between El Paso and San Antonio. A stretch on which there is little to nothing including traffic. At night it slows to 65 for safety. Last I looked it was 65 for semis as well. When I have made this drive I have noted most are respectful of the limit in that upper range and did not speed. I saw some, 2/3s of them had out of state tags.

Now what I do not like is that some of the busier/shorter routes like Houston to SA have raised to 75. All that does is kill my mileage. All the folks on that leg do 85 now instead of 80.

Anyways, on all the times I made this drive I failed to once see an SUV or Truck blowing around like a tin can.
 
2 BIG issues with that for me:

1) A crash at 70MPH or even 85MPH is a death sentence. Dosent matter if you are in a Hummer, you will die at that speed. (I work in the ER, I see crash victims/casualty's all the time)

2) Fuel economy is going to go down to near nothing at that speed.


This is a recipe for disaster. A few high profile crashes and fatalities and the speed limits will be lowered.
 
Originally Posted By: FirstNissan
2 BIG issues with that for me:

1) A crash at 70MPH or even 85MPH is a death sentence. Dosent matter if you are in a Hummer, you will die at that speed. (I work in the ER, I see crash victims/casualty's all the time)

So, if a 70 mph crash results in death, then increasing the speed limit above 70 mph shouldn't matter anymore. It just becomes more difficult to remove the bodies.
 
Originally Posted By: FirstNissan
2 BIG issues with that for me:

1) A crash at 70MPH or even 85MPH is a death sentence. Dosent matter if you are in a Hummer, you will die at that speed. (I work in the ER, I see crash victims/casualty's all the time)

2) Fuel economy is going to go down to near nothing at that speed.


This is a recipe for disaster. A few high profile crashes and fatalities and the speed limits will be lowered.


Speed limits were 75mph back in the 1960s.

When many cars on the road didn't even HAVE seat belts. Much less there being seat belt laws.

When many cars had 4 wheel drum brakes. Coupled with bias ply, skinny, high profile tires and those cars took 3 times the distance to stop compared to today's cars.

Those cars had suspensions that were designed for comfort at the expense of handling. Gas charged dampeners and sway bars were scarce.

Air bags? Cushioned dashboards? Plastic coated windshields? Halogen or HID lighting? ABS? Stability? Reflectors on the roadway (at least improved)? Not to mention highway lanes have gotten wider over the decades. The list goes on and on and on.

Back then, once a wreck happened, you were very fortunate if a trucker with a CB radio called for help and got in touch with police. Cell phones have helped safety tremendously.

I'm not advocating reckless behavior, however driving a car today at 85mph is pretty similar to driving a car back then much slower. I remember some of those floaty suspensions with terrible handling and anything over 80 felt like you might go careening off the road.

We should focus on the safety of our equipment. My state doesn't have an annual safety inspection, which is ludicrous.

And then focus on the safety and enforcement of driving laws. Too many people doing whatever they want on our roads.

Many cars today are designed and capable to be perfectly safe at very high speeds, IF they are maintained and operated properly.
 
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: FirstNissan
2 BIG issues with that for me:

1) A crash at 70MPH or even 85MPH is a death sentence. Dosent matter if you are in a Hummer, you will die at that speed. (I work in the ER, I see crash victims/casualty's all the time)

So, if a 70 mph crash results in death, then increasing the speed limit above 70 mph shouldn't matter anymore. It just becomes more difficult to remove the bodies.



They'll just need clean up crews then...
 
I'm going out on a limb and declaring it a political thing, a governor or whomever on the lookout "for the people".

If they could raise limits by ONE mph, they'd do it every election year.

I have a "100 mile rule" where on road trips the car stops no more frequently than every 100 miles. I keep it around 65-68 and get passed by the same cars more than once. I get there in decent enough time.
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Originally Posted By: FirstNissan
2 BIG issues with that for me:

1) A crash at 70MPH or even 85MPH is a death sentence. Dosent matter if you are in a Hummer, you will die at that speed. (I work in the ER, I see crash victims/casualty's all the time

When the fight was on to repeal the 55 mph national speed limit their was wailing such as the above, bloodbaths on the highway, blah, blah.

Never happened, if fact highway fatalities went down.
 
my mazda is buzzing at close to 4K up around 80. MPGs fall way off too, not worth it to me. 65-70 is about the sweet spot.
 
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