85 mph speed limit in Texas!

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Originally Posted By: JHZR2
But if they start pushing high minimum speeds so that the traffic flows together (getting passed by an 85 MPH truck at 55 is a pretty big difference), then Id have an issue. Similarly, if flow of traffic is 85-ish, so I get a ticket for not driving with the flow at a very reasonable speed of, say, 67, then I do have an issue.


From a safety perspective, the biggest issue when one wants to have high speed limits is to ensure the roads can handle the traffic with a high speed differential. Lots of big trucks are limited by their company to a maximum speed limit of 55 mph. If there's lots of traffic on an 85 mph limit highway and plenty of that is from trucks limited to 55 mph, it had better not be a two lane highway.
 
And no doubt the trucker that got lucky with his governor accidentally set to 57MPH will be in the left lane all day trying to get around the "slower" rigs. Never mind that the extra speed gets him at most a whopping 20 miles farther in a shift.
 
Umm yep, that's another very good point. Up here, the traffic is decent enough on the highways (for the most part) that speed limits could be just about anything, be it two lane or four lane or more. Not every place has that luxury, though, and that has to be taken into account.

Although not on a highway, this city did increase the speed limit on one street a couple years back. Everyone was speeding on it anyhow. It had the thirty mph limit, yet no sidewalks, no crosswalks, and very few intersections. So, it was too low, and no one obeyed it anyhow. They ramped it up a few miles an hour, and collisions were actually reduced.
 
And that is why trafic engineers use, when allowed, the 85 percentile system to measure speeds first and then set the limit accordingly. Son of a gun, the accident rate DROPS. DOesn't please the "sustainability crowd" much, though.
 
That's the Australian Standard too.

As soon as it's applied, the Pedestrian Council, and all of the other do-gooders and political knee jerkers get involved.

One road near here was brand new, and had 110km/hr limit, two lanes one way, 1 the other, no divide...breakdown lane in both directions.

Days after opening a bloke was changing a tyre, when a car skidded on ice, and speared him and his daughter...tragic.

Immediately, the do-gooders sprung, and had the limit dropped...no more freak accidents at that exact location means that dropping the speed limit worked...doesn't it ?
 
Originally Posted By: HerrStig
Yup, we'll run the world for YOUR specific benefit. I pay a little more for the car and a little less for fuel. You don't like that. Too bad. Keep right and keep moving.


Yep, welcome to America. It's all about me...
 
If I'm scared to death in my 20 year old S Box with the "Mystery Brand" tires at 60, well by crackey, NOBODY better go any faster.
 
Got back a month ago from driving from NJ to Key West and back, ~3,500 miles RT. Drove mainly at 70 to 80 mph. I liked to stay at 73 mph. It seems to be the "sweet spot" for my engine in my 1996 Contour with a 5 speed manual and 2.0 Zetec four. The car felt safe and sure even loaded down with luggage. Though there were times when traffic pushed me to 80+ mph, even in the right hand lane. I remember the days of taking long trips at the "double nickel" spped limit. They were horrible! Cops were every where ready to pull you over for for the slightest speed infraction. It was no fun driving long trips, took you forever to get anywhere. The the Key West trip I averaged 32.95 mpg, not bad for a older car cruising at those speeds.

Whimsey
 
I too remember the "double nickel" era. Long trips were difficult. In a way, I think driving 55 instead of 70 was more dangerous because it led to boredom and inattentiveness.

I can't fathom driving 25 for 2 miles in Shannow's rural town of 10 houses. The kids would probably be passing me on their bikes!
 
The Nevada Highway Patrol would confirm your thoughts. More people drove off our rural highways at 55 vs the no speed limit we had before the double nickel.


Ed
 
Saw some articles on the 55mph limit written by psychologists that demonstrated the lack of stimulus driving 55 on dead straight roads was more dangerous than higher speeds.

The extended low speed stuff that they have through rural towns in my state is utterly painful, and very hard to maintain concentration.
 
Originally Posted By: Shannow
Saw some articles on the 55mph limit written by psychologists that demonstrated the lack of stimulus driving 55 on dead straight roads was more dangerous than higher speeds.

The extended low speed stuff that they have through rural towns in my state is utterly painful, and very hard to maintain concentration.


That's why I took up hypermiling, and added instrumentation to help out. The instrumentation gives me something to keep me occupied while creeping along the moonscape that passes for roads up here. If I'm being forced to go slowly, might as well concentrate on getting extremely good fuel economy.
 
Originally Posted By: Shannow
Saw some articles on the 55mph limit written by psychologists that demonstrated the lack of stimulus driving 55 on dead straight roads was more dangerous than higher speeds.

The extended low speed stuff that they have through rural towns in my state is utterly painful, and very hard to maintain concentration.


Probably because you space out so much going 55mph vs 75mph
 
Try to drive gently here in the frozen north... by, among other things, staying out of the left lane, Mrs. VIP in the fat SUV grabs the cushion YOU are trying to leave so you don't tailgate, and Mr. "A" personality in the snarl grill Audi is right on your rear bumper, speed limit or above, until HE can get around and cut in front of you and THEN hit his brakes because his exit is a quarter mile away. You have to drive aggressively around here just so those beauties don't get a chance at you.
 
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Stig - Boston's always been that way...Bill Cosby observed, more than 40 years ago, that: "in Boston, Yellow means Go, Red means caution, and Green means stop and watch out for the guy running the Red!"
 
Got out of the Army long ago ... spent the last few months in the South, where things were laid back, went to a "professional school" in Boston on the ole GI bill, when I hit Boston traffic for the first time I wished I had a PC or an M48 (dating myself here) . I found whenever I drove outside of Boston thereafter I was driving like a madman. Now they seem to drive like that everywhere.
 
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When Montana instituted speed limits, the fatality rate doubled.

The 85th percentile has long been established by the NHTSA as the absolute safest way to set speed limits resulting in the lowest rate of accidents and fatalities. I'd venture a guess that the NHTSA knows more about speed limits and their affect on traffic safety than any single member here. By lowering speed limits below the 85th percentile, it makes the roads less safe - increasing accidents and fatalities. But the insurance companies have been so successful with their "speed kills" propoganda (that allows them to raise their rates and revenues) that the general public now actually lobbies for lower, less safe speed limits.

The majority of drivers are sane and smart enough to be able to determine what a reasonable speed is for their car and the road conditions. Self preservation is a powerful motivator. The few that are not are the ones we need to focus on getting off the road, instead of limiting the majority.

Many states already have "keep right" laws on the books just like on the autobahns, but the problem is that LEO's fail to enforce. Most drivers and LEO's are unaware of the fact that impeding traffic flow is not only discourteous but also unsafe and illegal. Check your state here: http://www.mit.edu/~jfc/right.html

Driving is a privilege, not a right. I've long been a supporter of 5 year licence renewal retesting including night vision testing, reaction time testing, panic braking testing, accident avoidance and slalom, as well as knowledge of driving laws and etiquette including keep right laws. I would also favor an annual inspection for vehicle registration renewal to prove road worthiness.

I would willingly pay $100 for each vehicle and drivers licence renewal annually which is way more than what they are getting from me in traffic citation fines. This would fatten the coffers of local and state government in exchange for getting unsafe vehicles and drivers off the roads and would more than offset the revenue they lose from speeding tickets. Factor in the savings from officers on traffic patrol, and from a budget perspective it's a no brainer.

When you drive fast enough that the task of driving demands your full attention, you put other tasks to the side - like cellphones and texting, eating, applying makeup, etc. The slowest drivers I see on the roads are the ones distracted by their cellphones - don't try to tell me they are safer just because they are driving 10 under the limit. Legislation needs to catch up with technology in a big way. I personally would like to see vehicles equipped with cellphone jammers to prevent any use while driving.

Telling me I can't drive a certain speed because your vehicle or skills aren't up to the challenge is like telling me I can't have a doughnut because you're on a diet.
 
thumbsup2.gif


Good post, robertjhoag.
 
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