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Speed limit


BaderJF

Increasing speed limits  

68 members have voted

  1. 1. Increase speed limits?

    • yes
      37
    • no
      15
    • maybe
      3
    • on new highways e.g. IH10
      9
    • add "speed lanes"
      4


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Actually, I don't think you can.

http://www.alpineautorental.com/

That's the ONLY rental car place I see in Alpine

Here is a map of Alpine, feel free to search for rental cars.  I think you may be able to rent through the airport, but not really sure.

 

And that location isn't really very close in to town - you'd have to take a cab or walk a good distance, and it gets really cold over in that part of the state at this time of year.

 

And that part of the state is really sparse.  There's almost nothing between towns.  Without a car you won't be able to travel very easily.

 

They come meet you at the station. Also there is another agency that rents 4WD vehicles.

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What do you think about increasing the speed limit on freeways and highways especially on IH10

to like 75 since many drivers go at least 80, or add "speed lanes" where a person can drive faster than

the regular lanes.

What do you think is a good speed limit?

Just something to see peoples opinion on

I have always thought autobahn style "speed lanes" in the middle of the median would be amazing on the major interstates like 10, 35, and 45. The speed limits could be like 110 in the left lane and 95 in the right lane or something like that.

Have the speed lanes require an ez tag type thing to keep track of who accesses the road and make it to where the people who get the special permit on their car have to pass a stricter driving test and be at least 21-25 years old or something, and their car have to pass a more stringent inspection to make sure the vehicle can handle the higher speeds.

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My single argument about this whole "raising the speedlimit" thing was safety.  If you have ever seen any wrecks in Germany then you would know that most of them are really quite bad.  Surviving an accident even something like a blow out because you had a cut on the tread - that you'd never see unless you soaked the tire in soapy water- would be fatal.  More so than that, the practice of just braking in time is very hard on really high speed roads.  I drove about 90-98 mph in Germany and did so comfortably without too much concern of going faster (though of course you could).  I had 1 near accident when a cop on a motorcycle had stoped all traffic just around a bend because someone in a Porsche had wrecked (had to be fatal from the looks of it) and other people behind me nearly ran into me (at higher speeds than our freeways).  After that I avoided the autobahns as much as possible!

 

If you want to play with your life have at it, but do so in a place where you aren't putting others in danger.

 

All that said - Germany roads are actually safer than ours.  That's not because of the speeds, but because the drivers are better.  We're Americans.  Most of us are pretty stupid behind the wheel, most of us would be worse drivers at higher speeds.

 

Imagine the typical soccer mom/dad driving to town x/y/z legally going 100mph while texting or talking on his/her phone and eating a McMuffin!  Not the best idea.

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My single argument about this whole "raising the speedlimit" thing was safety.  If you have ever seen any wrecks in Germany then you would know that most of them are really quite bad.  Surviving an accident even something like a blow out because you had a cut on the tread - that you'd never see unless you soaked the tire in soapy water- would be fatal.  More so than that, the practice of just braking in time is very hard on really high speed roads.  I drove about 90-98 mph in Germany and did so comfortably without too much concern of going faster (though of course you could).  I had 1 near accident when a cop on a motorcycle had stoped all traffic just around a bend because someone in a Porsche had wrecked (had to be fatal from the looks of it) and other people behind me nearly ran into me (at higher speeds than our freeways).  After that I avoided the autobahns as much as possible!

 

If you want to play with your life have at it, but do so in a place where you aren't putting others in danger.

 

All that said - Germany roads are actually safer than ours.  That's not because of the speeds, but because the drivers are better.  We're Americans.  Most of us are pretty stupid behind the wheel, most of us would be worse drivers at higher speeds.

 

Imagine the typical soccer mom/dad driving to town x/y/z legally going 100mph while texting or talking on his/her phone and eating a McMuffin!  Not the best idea.

 

Who can forget Drazen Petrovic

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My single argument about this whole "raising the speedlimit" thing was safety. If you have ever seen any wrecks in Germany then you would know that most of them are really quite bad. Surviving an accident even something like a blow out because you had a cut on the tread - that you'd never see unless you soaked the tire in soapy water- would be fatal. More so than that, the practice of just braking in time is very hard on really high speed roads. I drove about 90-98 mph in Germany and did so comfortably without too much concern of going faster (though of course you could). I had 1 near accident when a cop on a motorcycle had stoped all traffic just around a bend because someone in a Porsche had wrecked (had to be fatal from the looks of it) and other people behind me nearly ran into me (at higher speeds than our freeways). After that I avoided the autobahns as much as possible!

If you want to play with your life have at it, but do so in a place where you aren't putting others in danger.

All that said - Germany roads are actually safer than ours. That's not because of the speeds, but because the drivers are better. We're Americans. Most of us are pretty stupid behind the wheel, most of us would be worse drivers at higher speeds.

Imagine the typical soccer mom/dad driving to town x/y/z legally going 100mph while texting or talking on his/her phone and eating a McMuffin! Not the best idea.

Most of those points could be fixed..

Have LED signs on arches over the speed lanes every few miles warning of any accidents or slow moving traffic ahead (of course the whole road would be monitored with cameras and sensors), or yellow lights on the barriers that can flash, indicating to use caution ahead when there is traffic of a wreck.

I wrecked a car going 80+ before.. When there are barriers on both sides of the road to keep your vehicle on the road/going straight, and your smart and don't install things in dumb places for vehicles to run into head on like txdot does when they overlap guard rails, (with the overlap side sticking out into the road for you to hit), or poles and trees in the areas they can be hit, then the roads would be much safer. It's when you hit something head on that stops your vehicle instantly that serious damage/death occurs. I don't understand why they don't tie the light poles into the guard rail/wire fence set ups so that they can't be hit head on.

The guard rails would be at least tall enough to keep vehicles from going over the sides into the slower traffic lanes.

The German drivers are better partly due to their much more stringent driving tests, which is what I recommended them doing to allow you to get onto the speed lanes.

I agree people multitasking would be a problem but that's why they enforce insanely strict laws/fines preventing people from doing that. Or have some frequency on the highway that eliminates cell phone service so you can't use your phone. But I can say if you've ever driven 185mph before, you would know that no one would multitask driving at such high speeds. It's physically draining and practically impossible to take your hands off the steering wheel.

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The speed limit is 65 through most of the suburbs (Katy, the woodlands/spring, sugar land, Pearland I know for sure) and mostly 60 in the city. I think you could increase that by five everywhere. I don't think driving patterns would change much. People just would not be worried about being pulled over for going 73 because the speed limit is 70. When the speed limit went up on 45 to 75, it feels like most people go like 75 to 80 still. The left lane passes at like 85, unless there is an idiot hogging or passing slow as hell. If everyone treated every lane to the left as the next passing lane, and semis were only allowed in the right two lanes, then traffic would be reduced.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I don't think the issue is the speed limit. On my commute, I would wager that 70-80% of drivers are distracted on their phones, either talking or texting. How about we mandate that while you're driving your 3000 pound weapon, you devote 95% of your mental capacity to driving? On freeways outside of the city (sparse traffic areas), I firmly feel comfortable going 85-90 on a straight away. That's because both hands are on the wheel, I'm not messing with my phone, and I'm watching out for bad drivers. In the city, you'd better believe I never go more than a couple miles faster per hour than the posted limits.

 

 

The people advocating for slower speed limits are most likely the offenders who are eating breakfast, texting, chatting on their phones, et cetera. But my radical views are that far too many people are allowed to drive in the first place. There should be a much more stringent test to be able to gain a license that involves slalom, high speed cornering, and drifting. Make people proficient at driving and take away distractions and there goes the fatalities. I've had my license for over a decade and I've not had a single ticket (no, I don't have a radar detector) or accident, and predominantly my vehicles have been either sport bikes or sports cars.

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In general I think speed limits are set too low, but on busy roads the appropriate speed depends on conditions and time of day.  What I would like to see is wifi-enable speed limit signs that could be varied as needed.  

 

I definitely agree that driving standards in Europe are MUCH higher, and that includes more than just talking on the phone while driving.  If you block a passing lane there other drivers will very quickly make you aware of it, and you are expected to get over.  In the US I think a lot, if not most, people simply have no idea of the concept of slow traffic keeping right.  If one flashes headlights they don't move over because they don't realize they are supposed to, or they think it is somehow rude to expect other drivers to move out of the way.  The idea of "speed lanes" is interesting, but to me it would be a waste of money unless drivers were better educated in driving, because some clown would still be tooling down a speed lane at 60, oblivious to the world.  

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In terms of going too FAST, when speed limits fail to do the trick to slow down traffic, on smaller residential roads, they put needless all-way stop signs at entrances to cul-de-sacs. My uncle's neighborhood in Baton Rouge added them around 2007-2008. My own 'hood added them as well (but thankfully, not where I drive on it).

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqIuX5sS5uw

 

Posting this because I just saw it, powerful and relevant.

 

I'm ok with 60 in the city, with it going up to 65 near the beltway and 75 in the middle of nowhere. Like others said, the distances are shorter and you're not really buying much, and there are a lot of entrances/exits, changes to lanes, etc where lower speeds help with reaction time. The number one thing for me is having people pay attention and learn how to drive!

 

Regarding MPG, 55 is not necessarily the most efficient. It dependent on the car, some cars start falling off at 60, some 70. I don't start seeing a drop off until i exceed 75, and now that I drive 80 much of the way to Austin I do see a dropoff.

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  • 1 month later...

From NMA  (http://www.motorists.org/speed-limits/faq)

 

Q. Isn't slower always safer?

A. No, federal and state studies have consistently shown that the drivers most likely to get into accidents in traffic are those traveling significantly below the average speed. According toresearch, those driving 10 mph slower than the prevailing speed are more likely to be involved in an accident. That means that if the average speed on an interstate is 70 mph, the person traveling at 60 mph is more likely to be involved in an accident than someone going 70 or even 80 mph.

Q. Wouldn't everyone drive faster if the speed limit was raised?

A. No, the majority of drivers will not go faster than what they feel is comfortable and safe regardless of the speed limit. For example, an 18-month study following an increase in the speed limit along the New York Thruway from 55 to 65 mph, determined that the average speed of traffic, 68 mph, remained the same. Even a national study conducted by Federal Highway Administration also concluded that raising or lowering the speed limit had practically no effect on actual travel speeds.

Q. Don't higher speed limits cause more accidents and traffic fatalities?

A. No, if a speed limit is raised to actually reflect real travel speeds, the new higher limit will make the roads safer. When the majority of traffic is traveling at the same speed, traffic flow improves, and there are fewer accidents. Speed alone is rarely the cause of accidents. Differences in speed are the main problem. Reasonable speed limits help traffic to flow at a safer, more uniform pace.

Q. Aren't most traffic accidents caused by speeding?

A. No, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) claims that 30 percent of all fatal accidents are "speed related," but even this is misleading. This means that in less than a third of the cases, one of the drivers involved in the accident was "assumed" to be exceeding the posted limit. It does not mean that speeding caused the accident. Research conducted by the Florida Department of Transportation showed that the percentage of accidents actually caused by speeding is very low, 2.2 percent.

 

Most of these points make more sense in relation to raising the speed limit above the previous status quo of 55. I don't agree that they support raising the speed limit to 75, 80, or more.

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^Agreed.

 

A lot of people tend to think traveling faster than 70mph is just as safe as what we have now.  Unfortunately I see things differently, unless/until we have automated driving systems (or at least failsafes) we won't see a reduction in accidents by increasing the speed limit.  Perhaps if the speed limit was increased but tempers cooled in the process? 

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  • 4 weeks later...

Speed related accidents are caused either by driving too fast for conditions, or too much speed differential between vehicles.  The operating theory behind setting the speed limit in accordance with the 85th percentile is that the bulk of the driving public is not suicidal and can therefore pretty much figure out how fast to drive all on their own.  Personally, I think there is a lot of value in having a minimum speed on highways as well as a maximum, in order to cut down on the differential.

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  • 2 months later...

The problem with trying to make blanket assessments about speed limits is that relative safety depends significantly on the specific highway's age and condition. I feel much safer driving 75 on the Katy Fwy than I do driving 65 on 45 north.

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Speed limits vary on car type, too. A modern car, especially one built for speed, could seem normal or downright pokey at 70, while some older or underpowered cars are absolutely terrifying at the same speed.

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Funny - I don't remember being particularly terrified driving the Houston freeways in an air cooled VW with all of 50 horsepower on tap back in the day - and it would do 70 - 80 all day long.  Zero to 60 was best measured with a sundial, and it would not do 85, except downhill.  Perhaps my fear gene hadn't really kicked in yet.

 

Then again, there wasn't as much traffic back then, and the traffic that was around was accustomed to the much broader band of acceleration ability that existed at the time.

 

I also remember (during the same era) bombing serenely through west Texas at around 90 in my mom's enormous Chrysler station wagon with engine to match, Mom calmly sitting beside me and the DPS ignoring us because the 55 mph speed limit hadn't been invented yet so they had no need for radar.

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Yeah, a lot of it depends on acceleration speed, too, which is where the real "I'm going fast" sensation kicks in.

 

Perceived speed also has a lot to do with where you are in relation to the ground and how much metal is around you.

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I drive I-10 West quite often and have for years.  I love that the limit has been raised to 75 mph.  What is a big deterrent however, is the semi trucks.  They too can go 75-80 and do, while some big trucks will maintain 70 mph or so.  This seems to clog the right lane and causes people to completely ignore the "left lane for passing" signs.  The result is that you get 18 wheelers and slow bobtails in the right and all others in the left, some trying to maintain the posted 75 mph while others are trying to do 80-85.  I don't know how those bottlenecks can be eliminated but they happen very often during my weekday trips.

 

On the subject of losing control in a high speed blowout, what exactly causes people to lose that control?  Serious question.

 

I've had blowouts on I-45 N in a British sports car (low center of gravity) near Huntsville, in an 80s sedan on 610 near the dome, in a 90s SUV on I-45 S and in my current SUV doing 75 on I-10 W near Columbus and never once did I lose control.  I did not have anyone run into the back of my vehicle nor did I cause a traffic pile up in any case.  So, what causes folks to lose control on a highway going 60 mph or more during a blow out?

 

 

 

 

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Blowouts on the front are harder to control than those on the back.  I've had a couple over the years, and each time had a pretty strong vibration before things let go, which caused me to try to get over quickly but as smoothly as possible, and to gently get on the brakes.  I suspect that having a front tire go suddenly, without warning, at highway speed would make things pretty interesting pretty quick, though.

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I've never had a blowout yet, but I hope it isn't where speeds are fast, I'm not on the immediate right lane, or there's no clearance on the other side (shoulders are good, sharp drop-offs/bridges are bad). Close encounters I've never had but no serious "I'm f'd!" moments like the unfortunate situation in the dashcam video below:

cement-truck-2.gif

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  • 3 weeks later...

I've never had a blowout yet, but I hope it isn't where speeds are fast, I'm not on the immediate right lane, or there's no clearance on the other side (shoulders are good, sharp drop-offs/bridges are bad). Close encounters I've never had but no serious "I'm f'd!" moments like the unfortunate situation in the dashcam video below:

cement-truck-2.gif

 

A lot of people don't know this, but if you ever experience a blowout while on the highway, the key is to accelerate briefly to keep control, drive straight, and stay away from the brake pedal and keep from turning the steering wheel until the drag of the blown tire slows the car down to about 30 mph. When you get below 30 mph, then you can gently apply the brakes and steer gently onto the shoulder. See #1 and #2 on this list.

 

http://www.edmunds.com/driving-tips/how-to-survive-the-top-10-driving-emergencies.html

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

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