Texas to open fastest US highway with 85 mph limit
Source: Associated Press
AUSTIN, Texas Texas will soon open a stretch of highway with the highest speed limit in the country, giving eager drivers a chance to rip through a trip between two of the state's largest metropolitan areas.
The Texas Transportation Commission has approved a speed limit of 85 mph for a 41-mile toll road several miles east of the increasingly crowded Interstate 35 corridor between Austin and San Antonio.
"I would love it," Austin resident Alan Guckian said. "Sometimes it's fun to just open it up."
But while some drivers will want to test their horsepower and radar detectors, others are asking if safety is taking a backseat.
Read more: http://www.statesman.com/news/texas/texas-to-open-fastest-us-highway-with-85texas-to-open-fastest-us-highway-with-85-2451815.html
bunnies
(15,859 posts)85 is the "slow" lane.
DavidL
(384 posts)Try again, and next time, try to make sense.
Umm ok. I drive that route every day. Twice. Have for nearly a decade and NEVER have I gone 15mph on 95. Oh, and BTW, I didnt even mention rush hour. Perhaps you should work on your reading comprehension before telling someone their personal experience is senseless. How rude.
on edit: Oh I see. You live in the UK. Obviously youre an expert on the current drive from Portsmouth to Boston.
Roland99
(53,342 posts)it was like being in a NASCAR race with like a dozen cars tightly packed doing about 90-95mph
bunnies
(15,859 posts)Way too stressful!
alcibiades_mystery
(36,437 posts)Used to take it a lot. Yes, once you're past the Tappan Zee, it's a free fire zone.
NV Whino
(20,886 posts)With apologies to our very fine DU Texans.
efhmc
(14,709 posts)kentauros
(29,414 posts)Maybe because we're too polite, and let them stand versus getting into yet another fight...
I agree with you, though, about "apology not accepted". Adding the modifier "with apologies to our Texan DUers" is akin to your standard republican non-apology apology.
jtuck004
(15,882 posts)Said the Okie.
Except Galveston. It has soul. And smelled like fish. I liked the place.
I like their idea about the highway, however. Could do away with the speed limit, pesky regulation that. Just make sure everyone knows that flashing lights means pull aside. It's Texas, eh? Go big or go home.
Is Rick Perry cutting state funding that might be supporting the emergency rooms along that highway? He's not the brightest bulb in the package, someone might want to check on that, because they will be needed. Oh, and helicopters. Maybe many helicopters. Staffed. And transport vehicles.
Because when the highway patrol and police and governor and truckloads of scared people trying for a new life by working like slaves in this country roll their cars because they over-corrected, or got shot for driving too close, politicians are going to feel pressure to improve response times...and that costs $$$$.
efhmc
(14,709 posts)the speed limit was and is 70mph. The driver who caused the accident slowed for a postal worker and his trailer flipped into the other lane. This increased speed is a very bad idea and I will find another way to drive on my way to and from Austin.
Heather MC
(8,084 posts)First off all i would not want to be on a highway where everyone is going 85 and above I mean lets face it. If 85 is the limit most drivers will be doing at least 95. Add to that drivers texting and talking on the phone. this is a recipe for major disastor.
jtuck004
(15,882 posts)killed on the highway, directly correlated with speed, and the people don't seem to get the relationship. It ain't so much human behavior as it is physics. And we have decades of history and data to prove it.
But they really and truly would rather take the risk, along with everyone around them, to save 10 minutes on a 41 mile long road, and know, with near exact precision, how many more people they will lose. If it was just the people wanting to go 85, but it won't be.
And it's a toll road. It's like smoking - bad for you, and you have to pay extra for the privilege.
On the other hand, more and more people can't afford to drive every day, so maybe it won't last that long.
trouble.smith
(374 posts)and the san marcos to san antonio trip a couple times a month for years also. That highway is one of the most dangerous highways I have driven on. 80 mph one minute-dead stop the next. Not a fun time at 6:30 in the morning. and then my GF's grandmother was killed on the same road when she merged into traffic right underneath a semi. It happened right in front of her husband.
alarimer
(16,245 posts)It could not possibly be I-35. That would be insane even for Texas.
My guess is that this is a ploy to get people to use the toll road. Nobody uses it because of the tolls when I-35 is more direct. So ramp up the speed, get more people to use it and pay the tolls = more revenue.
I only ever used it to get to the airport.
sendero
(28,552 posts).... and so is the rest of Texas. Do we have our share of wingnut idiots here? You Betcha. But look around. They are EVERYWHERE\, all over the US.
Please keep in mind that only a few percentage points separate the red states from the blue.
And I am a Texan and my parents were born in Texas and I have 30 acres of heaven in Texas and I'm not going anywhere even if there are a few more wingnuts here than in some other places.
AtheistCrusader
(33,982 posts)Aristus
(66,075 posts)That's why.
And I'm San Antonio, born and raised. If one wants civility, one should behave with civility...
ronnie624
(5,764 posts)Or how about, "Fuck y'all, I'm from Texas!".
I'm a Texan, born and bred, and I think Texas males can be the rudest sum'bucks in the whole country, and it's clearly reflected in the state's politics.
hedgehog
(36,286 posts)BabbaTam
(88 posts)so you have kinda the same effect as in 'global' markets. So many people, so many places (that are all different) When you have a group of like minded individuals, that group is BIG. This makes diverse communities that have large numbers. It's possible to live in these like minded communities and be quite insulated from the 'other' types. All the major metropolitan areas have large communities of different types of folks. Like little cities inside cities. We are at the present only 'leaning' right. Color me blue in a purple state.
backwoodsbob
(6,001 posts)I'm getting to where I hate some progressives over the constant region bashing.
rfranklin
(13,200 posts)Gonna be some really brutal crashes on this strip.
Bernardo de La Paz
(48,773 posts)Art_from_Ark
(27,247 posts)In other words, if you're going 85mph, you're going 125 feet per second, or the length of a football field in 2.4 seconds. That means if you suddenly see a crash scene even one whole football field ahead of you, you have only 2.4 seconds to react, brake and avoid the accident. Under the same scenario, but only going 55mph, you would have 3.7 seconds to react, brake and avoid the accident-- which could make all the difference in whether you can stop in time, or get in an accident yourself.
Bernardo de La Paz
(48,773 posts)And the comparison wouldn't be between 55 and 85, but between 70 and 85, since you are just not going to see 55 on an interstate like that.
Art_from_Ark
(27,247 posts)speed can become a problem in itself. For example, even with a difference of only 15mph in speed (70mph vs. 85mph), it still would take at least 100 feet more for the typical car *with an alert driver* going at 85mph to make a complete stop on dry pavement, than for a car going at 70mph. On wet pavement, the difference is even greater.
http://www.driveandstayalive.com/info%20section/stopping-distances.htm
Bernardo de La Paz
(48,773 posts)Maybe make a slow road limit 65 and a high speed one, limit 120 with a vehicle & driver safety certificate requirement and alcohol breathalizer test on entry.
Art_from_Ark
(27,247 posts)do you think there is a need for, say, building codes?
Personally, I would rather have some modicum of safety on the roads that I travel. Too many things can go wrong on a road traveled by drunken, tired, or otherwise impaired/distracted drivers at 85mph, especially if their vehicles are in bad condition.
Bernardo de La Paz
(48,773 posts)Art_from_Ark
(27,247 posts)I don't see why one is "nanny state" and the other one isn't.
Bernardo de La Paz
(48,773 posts)alarimer
(16,245 posts)Because Americans are stupid fucking idiots and insist on being allowed to do whatever the hell they want, regardless of its impact on others, they will be driving 90 MPH, while talking on the phone and/or texting.
Fine. Have 85 MPH. But make talking or texting while driving a felony, with punishments equal to drunk driving punishments.
hobbit709
(41,694 posts)We're talking a place of miles and miles of nothing but miles and miles.
Austin is in central TX, on the outskirts of town is a sign "El Paso-577 miles"
chervilant
(8,267 posts)I'm surprised that the DOT hasn't figured out a way to block cell phone transmissions on the freeways...
former9thward
(31,798 posts)Why would the DOT want to do that? Cell phones have saved far more lives than they have cost.
chervilant
(8,267 posts)I haven't seen that research. Why don't you cite it?
What happened to the phone boxes along the interstates?
(It was just a thought, former. We have the technology to do many things. So, if cell phone texting and calling is causing a significant number of accidents and deaths, why not wonder about that?)
former9thward
(31,798 posts)I think it is just common sense. I haven't seen phone boxes on interstates for a long time.
There will be those with bad genes who will be removed from the pool. It happens every day. Sadly, they often take innocents with them.
efhmc
(14,709 posts)Loki
(3,825 posts)If you are driving 85 on a Texas highway, you are driving too slow.
rocktivity
(44,555 posts)Last edited Tue Oct 1, 2013, 06:43 PM - Edit history (2)
Because doing 70 always made me feel like a badass. Now it's only 5MPH over the limit -- big fucking deal, why bother!
rocktivity
Twinguard
(531 posts)It didn't last long, but I remember a drive from Great Falls to Billings in a friend's new Mustang. I was driving. I don't think I dropped below 90 the whole trip, and I was above 100 for most of it. Those were fun times, but "reasonable and prudent" is pretty vague and difficult to enforce.
I don't have a problem with the new texas speed limit as long as it doesn't compromise safety.
kentauros
(29,414 posts)really don't give a damn about our safety. The Texas DPS is out in force on holiday weekends, rightfully pulling people over for speeding. But I have yet to see someone with an unsecured load (i.e., barely or not tied down belongings in the back of a truck or trailer) getting pulled over and ticketed for all that debris they just created when gramma's rocking chair flew out the back at 85mph.
And then there's the issue of clean-up. Unless it's a car-sized mass, it usually stays on the road until it's pulverized by drivers too unaware to notice the remainders of the box-springs straddling the lanes in front of them.
I'd love to see a study on how many wrecks, injuries and deaths are caused by all this road debris. I would bet it would come close to the same caused by drunks and distracted drivers.
AtheistCrusader
(33,982 posts)It took a couple bad crashes to get it recognized as such, but if you drop material that strikes another car, hang on to your ass. The fine is like 5 grand.
kentauros
(29,414 posts)The only thing similar are the anti-littering laws and those only have a fine up to $500. I'd have to ask around, but I've never heard of a law like yours. It sounds like the better policy
AtheistCrusader
(33,982 posts)because a piece of plywood flew up out of a truck, and cut right through her windshield, getting her in the face.
There were other issues like it of course but that one was the public face of getting the law passed.
alcibiades_mystery
(36,437 posts)Unfortunately, I was towing a Uhaul trailer in a little Nissan Sentra, so while the mind was willing, the flesh was weak. Saw a lot of cars fly by me, though.
4dsc
(5,787 posts)but many others are not used to going this fast and that's where the problems are going to come up on this road. Too many people cannot and shouldn't be driving fast and that's going to hurts the ones that can.
Zoeisright
(8,339 posts)SunSeeker
(51,367 posts)I already know what it smells like. Texas.
1620rock
(2,218 posts)"Apology not accepted. Why are these comments always necessary?"
Because as a Michigander Texas SUCKS. I know this from personal experience.
Now you tell me why anyone in their right mind would choose to live in such a regressive, bigoted, backward, right-wing nut state? Are you trapped there? Are you held hostage there?...And the same goes for Arizona.
God bless the progressives in these places, but please don't tell me what paradises such places are.
efhmc
(14,709 posts)years and do not own and operate a business which has been here about 150 years and which generations of people have fought hard to keep. You obviously do not know anything about fighting to make a difference in your life, the lives of others and planning for a future which will be different if instead of running to another place, one stays and tried to make things different.
former9thward
(31,798 posts)cordelia
(2,174 posts)MicaelS
(8,747 posts)That's one reason.
That there are some things more important than politics to some people, is another.
Just because many of DU members are political junkies of the first order who live, eat, sleep and breath politics, and see the entire world through a political lens, doesn't mean the rest of the US is the same. Some people don't give a flying fuck about politics.
Dustlawyer
(10,493 posts)Where do you draw the line? Not ok about people, what about religion? All ___ are greedy.... I live here and know a huge number of Progressives in Southeast Texas. Human nature is to band together in groups of similar people, either by race, religion, national origin, politics.... They all overlap to some degree, but it does not make hating the "others" ok. Last year, a couple of guys killed a father after a game outside the stadium b/c he was wearing the rivals jersey. It's us vs. them! I have traveled all over the country and liked and appreciated the differences in the people and places. I was not raised in any of those places, so i have no roots there. Therefore, while I may appreciate other places, they are still not home. Texans are taught at an early age to be very proud of our state. We all have to take Texas History in the 7th grade. This makes us look and act like we are better than others, but in reality, people are very similar the world over. Not all of us here subscribe to National Review either, there are millions of wonderful, caring people here in Texas (including my Mom), so please don't dis Mom!
Manifestor_of_Light
(21,046 posts)Inherited the family home which was built in 1883. I think I'm the 5th or 6th generation living in this house. I found a land grant from The Republic of Texas, signed by President Anson Jones in 1845, in a box of deeds in the attic. Real parchment.
Living in a sea of rightwingers, it's hard. But I'm not going anywhere.
My county went 2 to 1 for McCain in 2008.
I'll keep hunting for fellow Democrats.
And ignore the Texas bashing. Yep, there are lots of jerks here. But also a lot of good people. You can't say 24 million people are all the same.
Paladin
(28,202 posts)That's alright. We DU Texans have come to expect such prejudice. One pointer, though---while you got the "God bless the progressives" exception right, you neglected to add the mandatory "except Austin, the only cool place in the state" comment. Come on, get with the fucking program: when you trash our entire state, we expect to see it done correctly.
4th law of robotics
(6,801 posts)(a brief period in Detroit) I can say that your entire state is a post-apocalyptic wasteland that makes Robo-cops prediction of the future seem overly optimistic.
Of course that wouldn't be fair now would it?
NickB79
(19,109 posts)The Arctic is turning to slush and the breadbaskets of the world are baking due to global warming from burning fossil fuels.
And people think this is a good idea? Really?
Kolesar
(31,182 posts)So Texans can get home in 29 minutes.
bananas
(27,509 posts)DBoon
(22,284 posts)something like "drive 65, freeze a yankee"?
Blue Owl
(49,902 posts)n/t
Trajan
(19,089 posts)I've been to Texas ....
mwooldri
(10,291 posts)They know a thing or two about fast roads. There is also a reason why that very nice BMW or Mercedes Benz has a top speed limit of 155 mph. Sure the limiters can be removed, and speeds of up to 200mph are attainable at times on the Autobahn. However these speeds are rare because just like over here, clogged up roads slow things down.
Also German driving tests are harder than US ones, with more requirements.
raccoon
(31,088 posts)oldsarge54
(582 posts)So far into freedom, that death is not a deterrant. Be it suicide by gun ( 50% of all gun deaths are suicide), or death by auto accident, no Republican will take responsibility. It is always the victims fault. Remember Cain and "if you are poor, it is your fault?"
AnneD
(15,774 posts)Is 80 mph. I can see it out there. You can literally see for miles and with the lower speeds, it takes 2 days to make it out of the state. I usually only make it from Houston to Van Horn or Fort Stockton. This summer, I made it all the way to Wilcox Az before calling it quits for the day.
This proposal seems dangerous to me, there isn't really a pressing need or reason or favorable conditions as there are in west Texas.
Ter
(4,281 posts)n/t
madrchsod
(58,162 posts)the AVERAGE speed is 75 mph....
Xithras
(16,191 posts)If you're only doing 85, remember that slower drivers are expected to yield right for faster traffic.
Frank Cannon
(7,570 posts)I lived in Los Angeles, and I recall that I-5 was pretty much a parking lot 24 hours a day.
LeftyMom
(49,212 posts)I guess I didn't move over fast enough.
That was a wee bit north of Mount Shasta.
burrowowl
(17,605 posts)I could see it, but gas consumption would be high!
struggle4progress
(118,032 posts)I understand why somebody might want to drive 85 going from (say) Dallas to El Paso: it's about 625 miles, so it takes about 9 hours at 70 mph and only about 7:20 at 85 mph -- it saves you 1:40
but 7 minutes? that's ridiculous
on high-speed rails would be even better between all major Texas cities. Since we moved here we have stopped going to Austin, only 60 miles away, because of the speed of the vehicles on I35. Now the speeds are going up and the speed junkies are salivating but wouldn't they enjoy the feeling of flying on land even more? Just asking!
sendero
(28,552 posts)... (better visibility, better traffic merging) cars are better (better brakes, better handling, more safety features) and it is about time we stopped living with your father's speed limits.
Javaman
(62,438 posts)Spitfire of ATJ
(32,723 posts)davidpdx
(22,000 posts)We'll see how the fatality numbers hold up after a year. I like speeding just as much as the next person, but I try to keep it at 70 to 74 going in a 65 MPH zone in long stretches.
harun
(11,348 posts)AngryAmish
(25,704 posts)This is my usual rant about speed limits, so here goes....
The maximum speed limit need to vary depending on the quality of the road and how many people are on it.
For example, in Wisconsin they maintain their roads very well. The stretch between Green Bay and Milwaukee is pretty flat and has few exits. That could safely have an 80 mph speed limit.
On the interstates in the city of Chicago their is effectively no speed limits - very few cops. In the middle of the night you have jokers going 80 - with many drunks on the road and exits every half mile. Nobody should go more than 50.
In rural areas I see the need to high speed limits, on limited access highways.
All that said I have never been on that road so I hold my judgment.
AlphaCentauri
(6,460 posts)unblock
(51,973 posts)Ishoutandscream2
(6,646 posts)This could mean more dead Texans, and how great would that be!! Come on, you know that's what you think and what you'd like to say!
Come on out and let us have it!
hedgehog
(36,286 posts)why not build a monorail shuttle that moves your car from point to point at 250 mph?
Zoeisright
(8,339 posts)number of traffic deaths go up.
Nikia
(11,411 posts)With 10mph + over the usual speed. Even on good roads, not every vehicle or driver is in good control at those speeds. What makes this worse is that this is a busy road, not a long stretch with barely any traffic.
alarimer
(16,245 posts)They didn't mention which one in the article but I suspect it's the one that goes near the Austin Airport and then up around Round Rock.
Not as busy as I-35 or it would be totally insane. Well, it's insane anyway, but not as insane as it could be.
jsr
(7,712 posts)Toll Road Offers Fast Cash to Texas
By NATHAN KOPPEL
Texas stands to receive $100 million from the private operators of a state toll road for raising its speed limit to 85 miles per hour, a contractual payoff that is drawing criticism from consumer groups.
The Texas Transportation Commission voted Aug. 30 to bump up the limit for a 41-mile portion of the 91-mile toll road between Austin and San Antonio, making it the fastest stretch of highway in the U.S.
The new segment of the toll road, State Highway 130, is set to open this fall and will be run by SH 130 Concession Co., a consortium of private road builders.
A contract the company signed with Texas in 2007 offers the state a one-time payment of $100 million for approving an 85 mph speed limit. The payout would have dropped to $67 million if the limit was set at 80 mph.
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This is I-35 in Austin: