Texas House of Representatives passes bill that would raise speed limits to 85 mph

[TheMightyFavog]

http://blogs.cars.com/kickingtires/2011/04/texas-wants-85-mph-speed-limit-highest-in-nation.html

The Texas House of Representatives has approved a bill that would raise the speed limit to 85 mph on some highways. If approved by the state’s Senate, which the chamber is considering, Texas would have the highest speed limits in the nation.

Texas currently has more than 520 miles of interstate highways where the speed limit is 80 mph, according to the Associated Press. The bill would allow the Texas Department of Transportation to raise the speed limit on certain roads or lanes after engineering and traffic studies are conducted. The 85 mph maximum would likely be permitted on rural roads with long sightlines.

Some car insurers, however, oppose the bill. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, high speeds were a factor in about one-third of all fatal crashes in 2009. The faster you’re traveling the greater the distance needed to bring your vehicle to a complete stop and the longer it takes a driver to react to emergency situations, according to IIHS. If an accident does occur at a higher speed, there is a strong likelihood that the crash impact will exceed the protection available to vehicle occupants.

On top of safety concerns, speeding increases fuel consumption. Every 5 mph you drive over 60 mph is like paying an additional $0.24 per gallon for gas, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

[NoPasaran]

1. This story is a year old

[Jackpine Radical]

3. So it is, but I either missed it the first time around

or filed it in the area of my brain I devote to Write-Only Memory, so I welcome it to my awareness even if it is a year old.

[kestrel91316]

2. Why not 100 mph? Are they afraid?

[madrchsod]

4. the average speed on the toll road i drive to chicago is close to 80.

i usually drive 70-80 and more often than not i get passed up by suv or a big pick up truck.

[michreject]

6. That could be me

I only get 10 mpg in my truck. I gotta make it to the next gas station before I run outta gas.

[Gman]

5. 85 along the 500 miles onI10 between

Kerrville and El Paso still isnt fast enough. But it beats the hell out of the days when it was 55.

[Zorro]

8. You got that right

Whole lotta nothin' out that way.

Couldn't even get a Mexican radio station the first time I drove it.

[hobbit709]

10. "Miles and miles of Texas"

On the outskirts of Austin on US290 is a sign
El Paso 577 miles.

[Gman]

19. It's 860 miles from Orange, Tx to El Paso

Or 10 hours at 85.

[HillWilliam]

17. I drove that sucker once

from El Paso then I-20 to Dallas. Ain't nothing in west Texas to see either, just a couple of light-years of yellow. I'll never do that again.

[deacon]

7. Good place to open a body shop.

[uponit7771]

9. According to IEA.gov we're using LESS gas than we did in 1983, time to save oil companies by allowin

...cars to travel at inefficient speeds.

Also, high speed rail needs to have some competition

[4th law of robotics]

11. About time

It sounds fast but when you have distances between cities that could fit whole countries it really is necessary.

[hedgehog]

12. Maybe it's time to re-think the auto-train!

[4th law of robotics]

14. Maybe, but the problem with trains

is that they require a certain number of people using them to be feasible.

If you're going to El Paso from Houston for business it would be handy to have a high-speed rail. But . . . on that day how many other people are doing the same trip? That's about 750 miles by the way.

Not really practical to put in and maintain a highspeed rail for you and the other guy who are making that trip.

I could see it between houston/dallas/fort worth/austin as those are fairly close together (comparatively) and could likely have a decent number of people using them. But that doesn't help much for the other cities.

Also the whole "not having a car when you get to the end of your trip" thing could be problematic.

Really I think we should focus our energy and money on mass transit within a city first.

[hedgehog]

15. So, on any given day, only two people travel that route by car?

[4th law of robotics]

16. Beats me

I just made up a number.

Probably more than 2, less than enough to sustain a high speed rail network.

[Aerows]

18. I've driven part of that stretch of I-10

And you are absolutely right. It's a stretch of nothing LOL.

[Johnny Rico]

13. Perfectly reasonable, given the distances involved.

Lower speed limits are appropriate in other locations, but out in the West in the middle of nowhere?

Heck, 85 mph might still be too low!

[Marrah_G]

20. Darwinism at work!