Texas House OKs hiking speed limit to 85 mph on some roads

[Newsjock]

Source: Associated Press

The Texas House approved a bill that would allow the speed limit on some highways to be raised to 85 mph, which would be the highest in the nation.

The measure passed Wednesday on a voice vote was part of a larger transportation bill. It would authorize the Texas Department of Transportation to raise the speed limit on designated lanes or entire stretches of roadway after doing engineering and traffic studies, the Dallas Morning News reported Thursday.

The Senate is considering a similar bill.

... “Obviously, the two things that kill most people on our highways are speed and alcohol. Increasing it to 85, or even 75, will have a dramatic impact on the death and injury rate on those highways where it’s implemented,” said Jerry Johns, a spokesman for the Southwestern Insurance Information Service.

Read more: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/7511072.html

[Myrina]

1. Burn that oil!!

Yee Haw! :(

[sinkingfeeling]

2. Sure, we need millions of Hummers running as fast as they can, to pump up those gas prices!

[flor-de-jasmim]

3. Maybe we should REQUIRE Republican politicians to go drag racing at that speed...

far away from the rest of us!

[LiberalFighter]

4. They should increase it to 120 mph within 1/4 mile of the Bush family.

[Turbineguy]

5. Maybe they should allow drivers

to shoot anybody going less than 65 mph. Otherwise what's the point of being armed to the teeth?

[Buns_of_Fire]

6. Why is there a hiking speed limit in the first place?

Mercy, people, most hikers don't go past three or four miles an hour at best. A hiker bumped into me once, and all it did was squash my Twinkie a little.

Oh, THAT'S what the headline means. Never mind.

[onehandle]

9. I read it that way too. nt

[JVS]

26. "squash my Twinkie"

Is that a euphemism? ;-)

[Buns_of_Fire]

42. Honest, I really didn't INTEND for it to have any double-meaning...

...but the more I think about it, I realize it probably SHOULD be a euphemism. I think I'll copyright it.:)

[Canuckistanian]

79. I knew this girl in college

She squashed GREAT Twinkie.

[chrisa]

68. I lol'd when I first saw the title.

[Speck Tater]

7. I only hike at around 5 MPH. I can't imagine a hiking speed limit of 85! nt

[petronius]

60. Seriously. I guess those Texans take their hiking more seriously than the rest of us

Or else there's just so damn much of Texas that backpackers need a higher speed limit to get through it in a timely fashion...

[snooper2]

8. Sweet, that's good cruising speed in the pontiac

right under 2k RPM

[Stinky The Clown]

10. Wow, Tejas has some **FAST** hikers!

(That was a joke)

[mwooldri]

11. IMO perfectly OK on the right roads in the right conditions.

The German Autobahn system is safe and there are a good number of stretches that have no pre-set speed limit - and the safety rating of those parts with no pre-set limit vs the parts that have a locally set limit are on par with each other. Besides on the autobahn roads with no speed restrictions, there is a "gentlemans agreement" that the limit is no more than 155 mph, and the advisory speed limit is 81 mph.

So for Texas to up the speed limit on safe enough roads to 85 mph - no problem.

[kentauros]

30. Before comparing speed limits between countries,

you might want to compare driver education systems. I have no idea what it's like in Germany, but would guess it's easily ten times harder and better than it is here in Texas. It costs only $25 dollars to get a license here, though I don't know what the cost is if you have to take the written and driving test. And DPS (TX Department of Public Safety) has done their damnedest to dumb it down in order to get more drivers on the roads.

You also have to compare roadways. The Autobahn has no more than a 4% grade anywhere along its length and a roadway thickness greater than any other roads (something like 60cm if I recall correctly.) Not to mention crews that keep it free of debris, the signs cleaned and in good repair, and well-lit. You get out in the country on Texas roads and you're taking your own life in your hands if you want to drive over the current high-limit of 70 (65 at night.) We don't have that professional driver mindset like they do in Germany ;)

[mwooldri]

34. That is a good point. Generally Euro drivers' ed is tougher.

Just googled for on how to get a German drivers license. Your license, valid for life, is 1000 Euros and most Germans spend 20-40 hours in driving school to get it.

Texans are extremely lucky should they choose to move to Germany. Provided they got a decent amount of road experience, they can show up at the German equivalent of the DMV and give them certain paperwork and much less than 1000 Euros and swap their TX license for a German one. Germany has full driving license reciprocity with Texas and a number of US States. In other words, Texans don't have to take the German driving or written tests - which really are TOUGH!

From my homeland (the UK) it's different. There is no reciprocity between the UK and any US state. But there is a concession - you get to drive for 12 months on your US State issued license and have to pass the UK driving exam and written test within 12 months to keep your driving privileges. Otherwise you would have to get a provisional licence and sport L plates on your vehicle (L to designate as "Learner Driver").

But my point still stands though: if the roads and conditions are safe enough then 85 mph is OK. Crappy roads and crappy drivers -> disaster.

[Bonhomme Richard]

12. Why stop there? Why not 100 mph? n/t

[hatrack]

15. Hell, why bother with those so-called "speed limits" - they're for Girly States

No for manly gas-wastin' TEXAS!!!!

[Javaman]

21. Remember when Montana eliminated speed limits?

the accident rate skyrocketed and the insurance corps freaked out.

The instituted a 75 MPH on major highways.

morons.

[former9thward]

54. Untrue.

The federal government threatened them with loss of road funds unless they set a limit. They set it at 75 mph with a petty fine if it is violated.

[Javaman]

55. Huh, I stand corrected.

Cheers! :)

[Ikonoklast]

80. Montana State Trooper: "Do you know how fast you were going, Sir?"

Me: "Yes."

MST: "I need to write you a ticket."

Me: "OK."

MST: "The fine is $5 in total for any amount over the posted speed limit."

Me: "I know."

MST: "Have a nice day, and drive safe."

Me: "I love Montana."

[former9thward]

86. When I have driven through it so do I.

[Greybnk48]

13. What's the speed limit of Texas? Wide open!

That's what we used to say to let a guy know his fly was open! LOL! Just ask "What's the speed limit of Texas."

[MadHound]

14. Great, Texas will be even more of a nightmare for driving.

As if there aren't idiots aplenty in the state, now we're going to allow them to crank their madness up a few notches.

[Luciferous]

43. Yep, the worst place I've ever driven is Austin.

[Horse with no Name]

46. Go down southeast to Beaumont

You'll definitely re-think Austin!

In Beaumont, EVERYONE drives like they are in their own 10 acre pasture.

[MadHound]

47. Oh geez, don't get on the roads in Austin during a rain, or worse,

Even a little bit of ice and/or snow. Went down there to visit a friend a few years ago, during a cold snap/minor snow event, and two things surprised me. Apparently it is common to build apartment buildings without any sort of insulation, and having a half inch of snow on the ground means you continue to drive at high speeds, bumper to bumper, and don't forget to slam on brakes at the last second.

A half inch of snow led to a twenty car pileup, unbelievable.

[midnight armadillo]

56. No insulation?

But it makes buildings cooler in the heat. Unless you have a massive AC unit...hmmm...

[kentauros]

71. You should see how they deal with fog here in Houston.

"So I'm going 70 mph and I can't see more than twenty feet in front of me? And your point is...?"

[MilesColtrane]

74. Believe me, people already drive that fast.

The only thing this will change will be the number of speeding tickets.

[justabob]

90. worst drivers anywhere, it is true

That is not to say there aren't a small percentage of good drivers valiantly trying to survive each day unscathed. :) I am always stunned that the accident rates etc aren't a lot worse than they are. Really bad drivers in Dallas, and based on a recent trip to OK, on the interstate as well. I am surprised dozens of people don't die (in traffic) every day in my home zip code, never mind the metroplex/state as a whole.

[Orsino]

16. Winning!

Add an amendment funding drive-through liquor stores and free concealed-carry permits, and fuck yeah!!!!!!

[seabeyond]

17. i am happy. we are at 70. too slow. love getting into new mexico and colorado where 75

i am fine with 85. excited even.

[kentauros]

31. I'm not.

I'm very happy driving only 70mph. We don't have an Autobahn here. We have barely drivable asphalt roads on most state highways, non-divided (four lanes with only a double-yellow between them) and debris galore. Not to mention any number of animals that like to dash across the roads.

You want to go faster? Learn how to fly a plane (150 mph or more) ;)

[Codeine]

61. Hell yeah.

In the right conditions it's entirely possible to drive both fast and safe.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

18. It all depends of the conditions of the roads which will have high limits.

Endless straight lines, excellent pavement, good escape areas => OK, make it an autobahn.

Otherwise... not such a good idea.

[JVS]

25. It also depends on the vehicles.

A lot of cars out there are capable of handling well at speeds significantly higher than 65 mph.

[kentauros]

73. Sure, the cars can handle it,

but does the average driver have any clue how to handle their vehicle in an emergency situation at high speed? Hell, I can't even drive a few miles an hour over the speed limit on the freeway curves around here. In Houston, anyway, the majority seem downright afraid of driving. They're certainly afraid of curves.

American drivers are not European drivers.

[kentauros]

72. As much as Texas likes to pour concrete everywhere,

I don't think they're up to the mindset of 60cm-thick concrete roadways, aka, the Autobahn ;)

Here's another huge problem we have in this state: unsecured loads

Imagine coming up on a queen-sized mattress in the middle of the road, at night, and at 85+. Which one do you think will "win"?

[Javaman]

So much wrong with this...

Beside the obvious over use of gasoline and oil,there are some truly fucking stupid people here in the "great" state of Texas, that will automatically assume that this means ALL roads.

Rather than actually read which ever the speed limit will actually apply, they will just assume and floor it.

Yes, I live in Texas, trust me, I see some truly amazing things on my morning commute.

I think I will start taking the surface roads.

[tammywammy]

19. No problem with this

It's for those long stretches of highway out in West Texas, not the regular highways in metropolitan areas.

[NoGOPZone]

20. Why not? I'm sure there are already legions of people convinced

that they get their best gas mileage at that speed, physics be damned.

[Marrah_G]

22. Just another reason to avoid Texas !

(sorry Texas DUers)

[Greybnk48]

23. My last car trip to Wyoming, there was no speed limit

out in the open. Also no humans and nothing to hit but antelopes, so why not speed? My friend and I passed one pickup truck in HOURS! We were driving down from Devils Tower to Laramie to the University. It was so barron it was like the fricking Twilight Zone!

[Abq_Sarah]

24. Speed may kill

But it's only responsible for a small fraction of the deaths on our interstates. Most of our fatalities are due to our excessively high rate of drunk drivers.

[seabeyond]

27. lack of speed killed way back when in calif when ropped speed limit to 55

people were falling asleep. they talked about putting bilboards to be able to distract the driver on the very long, barron hiways

[Freddie Stubbs]

28. "America is all about speed. Hot, nasty, bad-ass speed."

[Hangingon]

29. Interstate 35 - the Texas autobahn

[w8liftinglady]

44. I was gonna say...85 is actually a median speed in Dallas

...Now,60 is pushing it when you enter Ellis County(just South).

I can't see them doing this... too much revenue to be made...unless cutting highway patrol is on their chopping block.

[seabeyond]

51. i was coming into dallas, 11 at night, down a pretty big hill, four or five lanes

and pretty much had it to myself. was on the east side out of louisiana. cop got me for 85. i mean geeesh, how to go 70.

[Bake]

32. Ever driven through Texas?

Some places it's miles and miles of straight, flat highway. 65 feels like crawling.

I have no problem with this, ASSUMING it's selectively and not stupidly implemented.

Bake

[hayu_lol]

33. Hmmm...will they issue in-line skates to the ...

armadillos for crossing the road?

;^)

[hobbit709]

65. "ASSUMING it's selectively and not stupidly implemented."

You're talking the TX Lege here. Selective and stupid are the way they operate.

[WinkyDink]

35. [Insert gallows humor here.]

[Sheepshank]

36. Long stretches of open highway,

There are areas here where the speed limit is 80...we go closer to 90. Far from off and on ramps, no towns, no nothing. Highway admin did a test site for almost a year....no increase in fatalities along those stretches. Became permanent this year in not only the test site areas but a couple of others. Still, these are areas far from any towns.

[Aerows]

37. I approve of this

I'd like the speed limit to be lifted on all major interstates.

[MrScorpio]

38. Very few US highways are designed to handle that kind speed

These people are asking for trouble.

[A HERETIC I AM]

91. Not true.

The Pennsylvania Turnpike - the first stretch of limited access, divided highway in the country was designed for 100 + MPH speeds.....


In the 1930's

The fact is, the overwhelming majority of rural miles of the interstate system in the US have curves of a long enough radius to make 100 MPH speeds easily manageable.

The problem isn't with the speeds. It is with the drivers.

[MrScorpio]

94. I've driven on the PA Turnpike quite often for almost 20 years

Between Breezewood and the Western Border…. I've also driven on the Autobahn

The PA Turnpike is much too narrow and curvy to be driven safely at excessive speeds

Once you spent some time on the 'Bahn, you can see why the PA Turnpike is not as speed worth as they say it is.

[Ezlivin]

39. School zones to go from 15 to 45mph

'Cause Texas kids learn faster.

[Kip Humphrey]

40. Vroom, vroom... fewer Tesans to mess with in the future.

[Ishoutandscream2]

78. That would make you happy, wouldn't it?

Not shocking here at DU.

[RebelOne]

41. Ever driven on I-285 around Atlanta?

If you are traveling 75, you are being tailgated. Same as on I-85 or I-85. Speeders are not stopped unless they are are on side roads.

[Horse with no Name]

45. It is 75 out in West Texas

I feel unsafe going that speed and being on a road that other people are going that fast.

85 is ridiculous. I also thought that speed limits like that will interfere with federal highway funding...it seems I read that once long ago.

[seabeyond]

49. 70 in our west texas. colo and NM 75. i love fast. i know others are uncomfortable

with it. stay in the slow lane.... and let people go around. my inlaws drive slow. my sister in law and her daughter drive slow. different rythyms.

[Horse with no Name]

53. It starts 75 out around Pecos

and goes to the end of Interstate 20. Picks back up on Interstate 10 until after Van Horn--going into El Paso.

There is NO slow lane. You have truckers barreling their rigs at 80 and above.

It is a matter of being unsafe, not necessarily uncomfortable.

[A HERETIC I AM]

92. First of all, it is 80 MPH for cars in West Texas, NOT 75.....

Starting west-bound at the 494 mile marker on I-10 to the 62 MM outside El Paso.

On I-20 it is 80 for cars from the 89 mile marker till it joins I-10.

That is only daytime however. It is 65 for all vehicles at night.

The truck speed limit on those sections is 70 daytime/65 night.

"There is NO slow lane. You have truckers barreling their rigs at 80 and above."
Ummm...yes there is a slow lane. The right lane.

As far as "truckers barreling their rigs at 80 and above" is concerned, I am telling you that the number of 18 wheelers doing "80 and above" is minute compared to the whole and at better than $4.00/gal for fuel, damned few if any are running that fast these days. I know. I just drove MY tractor trailer across I-10 from the I-75 jct in Fl to I-15 in San Bernardino.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_limits_in_Texas#75_mph_and_80_mph_limits

Get into New Mexico and it is 75 for all vehicles day or night west of Las Cruces. Same with AZ. Then one drives into California which has retained the absurd and ridiculous 55 limit for trucks yet allows cars to run 70.

[kentauros]

76. It's not just a feeling of being unsafe,

it is indeed unsafe. That is, the faster you go, the less likely it is that you will survive a loss of control. Airbags can only help so much, and are often rated for lower speeds.

Here are some of the factors that work against y'all's love of high-speed driving (not you, HwnN, :)) that I can name off the top of my head:

Non-Autobahn road surfaces
Road debris (lost loads, mufflers, luggage...)
Deer
Loose cattle
Fellow drivers on the phone (it's worse than driving drunk)
Vehicles not engineered for higher speeds (the majority don't own supercars)
Drivers with no clue about high-speed driving skills.
Shortened reaction times
Longer braking distances

That's all I can think of and all can be quite deadly.

And then there's the fact that your fuel economy goes down the faster you drive, not to mention the increased wear and tear on the engine and transmission. All for the convenience of getting there just a little faster. Is your time on this earth so precious that you can't wait another half hour to get somewhere?

If y'all love driving fast so much then get a professional driver's license, a race car and take it to the track. Or go over to Germany and risk your life alone on the Nürburgring

[AngryAmish]

48. I'm a grown up.

There are roads near my house that are 55 mph, but are clearly unsafe to do so (urban expressway with traffic). There are rural roads with on ramps every ten or fifteen miles through the plains of Illinois where I can safely drive 85. Circumstances prescribe speed, not arbitrary law.

[Zoeisright]

89. Fail.

The law prescribes speed limits. If you don't understand that, you ARE NOT a grown up.

[last_texas_dem]

50. TX House also just banned texting while driving

Wouldn't want anything unsafe going down on the highways, y'see...

[seabeyond]

52. good. those people scare me and i see way to many. nt

[kiva]

57. Wish Nevada would follow suit -

outside of the cities/towns it would work well.

[Throd]

58. Pffffffffffffttttt! Ever drive between Sacramento and Bakersfield?

85 is the norm.

[Codeine]

62. I've had people crawl up my bumper while I'm going 85.

"Dude! I'm in a 20-year-old Corolla! I can't speed up any more!" :rofl:

[Hutzpa]

59. I support this whole heartedly. n/t

[krispos42]

63. Translation: we're legalizing what people are already doing.

I used to drive from Cambridge to Albert Lea twice a week, in Minnesota. Bored a hole through the air at 80mph for two and a quarter hours each way, except through St. Paul... had to go about 60 through there.


Not only did I move at 80, just about everybody else not in a big-rig did as well. The result was very safe roads. I did not fly past anybody, nor did anybody fly past me. It was a steady passing movement; no surprises, no panic.

[bluetex]

64. Austin....

Absolutely the worst town in the State for driving.


I do, however.....enjoy Amy's Ice Cream. Almost makes it worth the hassle.

[octothorpe]

69. heh.. The drivers in Austin or the roads?

I find Houston to be worse than Austin. Way more traffic and most the people don't seem to know where they're going until the last minute.

[Hutzpa]

81. hahahaha

hats funny... :rofl:

[Manifestor_of_Light]

87. Houston and Dallas are full of awful drivers.

I grew up in Houston.

I flunked my driver's exam when I was 16 (couldn't parallel park a land barge). I decided not to drive. I knew that in Houston I would get killed because I was not able to pay attention at 16.

I went to college at 17, lived in dorms for three years without a car. When I was 21 I moved back home and went to Community College for a two year degree and I had to drive I-45 every day to Houston. So I got my license when I was 21. By that time I could pay attention in traffic. One of the smartest things I ever did was waiting.

[mr clean]

66. Looks like the rich is getting tired of speeding tickets.

[agentS]

67. Alright! Let me bust out my Bugatti!

[octothorpe]

70. I hope they do it on I-35. At least on a couple of the long boring stretches.

[WI_DEM]

75. as usual, Texas leads the nation in idiocy.

[Hutzpa]

82. There are more smarter people in Texas more than

where you're from, I grantee you that.

[Shagbark Hickory]

77. Sounds like a good thing.

People are already most likely going 85+ on those roads where they are considering it.
Even with gas over $4 a gallon, people are going to go 85.
Texas is a big state, you gotta get where you're going and an extra 15 miles per hour makes a big, big difference.

I'm betting they are on flat straight roads in the desert.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

83. "Texas: The place you can look the furthest and see the least."

Author unknown.

[KeepItReal]

84. "I can't drive 55" - Sammy Hagar

I'm with this guy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfNATuw1DRs

[jmowreader]

85. There is a very simple way to kill this

There are some Democrats in the Texas Lege--it's not many but I bet a higher percentage of the Texas Lege than the Idaho Nut Bin is Democratic--and all that need be done is for one of them to stand up in debate and say...

(Read this with a Texas twang for greatest effect)

"Y'all just know we're going to have to raise some taxes to make up for all the lost speedin' ticket revenue."

They'll trash that sucker so fast and hard it'll make a hole in the bottom of the wastepaper basket.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

88. "Speed is the only truly modern sensation." - Brave New World

I have only done it on an airport taxiway, but I have done 117mph in my Honda Accord. Who needs high-speed rail?

[Skidmore]

93. Well, at least you won't be adding speeding to the crimes committed

when driving a get away car.

[cherokeeprogressive]

95. Most speed limits haven't changed since biased ply tires and oil shocks.

Cars have though, so have suspensions, and tires. What wasn't safe at 50mph fifty years ago is now safe at 75.

[kentauros]

96. What about driver skills?

Cell phones weren't around fifty years ago. There's also far more vehicles on the roads, with the totally clueless driving 40 mph in a 65 zone and the other clueless driving 85 in a 70 zone while texting, eating, fiddling with their iProduct for music and generally paying absolutely no attention to the roads in front of them.

What's interesting about all of this is that from reading of the public-roads driving habits of many professional drivers, they often have more respect for the laws and whether it's wise to speed at any given time than do your average, unprofessional, fellow public-roads-driver that seems to think speed at all costs is preferable to driving sensibly.

I really don't want to share the roads with the speed-freaks when I'm perfectly happy driving the current upper limit of 70 mph. And if any of y'all can't stay awake at that speed, may I suggest getting a chauffeur? Then you can get in the sleep you seem to be missing on a daily basis ;)