God Bless Texas

[MadImmortalMan]

Texas considers highest speed limit in nation


By Chris Woodyard, USA TODAY


As lead singer of Van Halen, Sammy Hagar once crooned, "I can't drive 55." To show how far things have come, now some Texans aren't happy about only driving 80 miles per hour. The Legislature is considering raising the maximum speed limit to 85 mph, highest in the country.

The Texas House of Representatives has approved a bill that would raise the speed limit to 85 mph on some highways. The bill now goes to the state Senate, the Austin Statesman reports.

We suspect Sammy, shown in the photo at right back in 1995 when California raised its speed limit from 55 mph to 65 mph, (and previous Van Halen lead singer David Lee Roth) would be pleased.


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.

In the mid-1990s, the federal government deregulated national highway speed-limit standards, allowing states to set their own speed limits. Before the reform, all states had adopted a 55-mph speed limit by 1974 to keep federal highway funding, with some rural areas able to travel up to 65 mph since 1987.

Since then, 33 states have raised speed limits to 70 mph or higher on some portions of their roads. Texas and Utah have the highest speed limits of 80 mph on specified segments of rural interstates, according to IIHS.

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/driveon/post/2011/04/texas-considers-highest-speed-limit-in-nation/1

Hell yeah. 

[garbon]

But you have to be in Texas

[MadImmortalMan]

That's about 135kph for you foreigners.

[Caliga]

The high speed limit is necessary.  Texas = HUGE.

[Fate]

I wonder what the fuel mileage is for an SUV is at 85 MPH.

And no, it's not necessary. There's jack shit in West Texas. Everything of importance is in the DFW-Houston-San Antonio triangle.

[Slargos]

I wonder what the fuel mileage is for an SUV is at 85 MPH.

And no, it's not necessary.

Roughly 4-5km/L according to my estimate. Granted, I'm in a pickup, not a SUV. It has worked marvelous wonders to keep my foot off the accelerator, making the switch to this vehicle. 

[Eddie Teach]

And no, it's not necessary.

Agreed. Driving in Texas is easily avoidable.

[Fate]

And no, it's not necessary.

Agreed. Driving in Texas is easily avoidable.

Unfortunately I'm stuck here for the next three and a half years. 

[The Brain]

And no, it's not necessary.

Agreed. Driving in Texas is easily avoidable.

Unfortunately I'm stuck here for the next three and a half years. 

What did you do?

[Zanza2]

That's about 135kph for you foreigners.

Lame. 

[Zanza2]

I wonder what the fuel mileage is for an SUV is at 85 MPH.

Driving 200+ kph in a Mercedes M class SUV needs a lot of fuel, probably something like 20 l/100 km ~ 11 mpg - and that's a diesel. I don't know the exact figure because it's a company car and I don't really care, but you certainly have to go to the gas station a lot.

[Viking]

Germany mocks these pathetic texican speed limits.

[Martinus]

It's only fair that Texas should make it easy for people to pass through/get out as quickly as possible.

[Slargos]

Germay mocks these pathetic texan speed limits.

http://seniortravel.about.com/b/2008/04/10/speed-limits-on-the-german-autobahn.htm 

[MadImmortalMan]

It's only fair that Texas should make it easy for people to pass through/get out as quickly as possible.

In my experience, it's about 14 hours from Beaumont to El Paso. There's just too much of Texas.