Speed limits across the US are on the rise! Up-to-date state-to-state info & news...

rotarykid

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Proposal to raise speed limits in Mississippi to 75mph up for debate again....

A proposal in the legislature to raise speed limits in Mississippi by 5 mph to 75mph is up for debate again...


A Proposal is in the legislature again to raise speed limits in Mississippi to 75mph up for debate...

JACKSON, Miss. (WTOK) - Speed limits on Mississippi's highways and interstates could soon be on the rise. The proposal is still pending at the State Capitol.

Senator Robert Jackson wants to see the speed limit raised by 5 mph on State Highways and interstates from 70 to 75mph.

"I used to be a fast driver but now it seems I'm slower because everybody's passing me," said Jackson.

Jackson says he's just trying to get the constituents what they want.

"People are already driving higher speed than the posted speed limits," explains Jackson.

Certain research groups caution there are safety consequences of raising speed limits. That's something some drivers worry about too, especially on the interstates.

"It could bring on some concerns for myself and other people around me," said Jessie McKnight. "Because not everybody can go above the speed limit and drive safe."

The insurance institute for highway safety studied the impact of other states upping the limits.

They claim they found that a 5 mile per hour increase in the state maximum speed limit leads do an 8% increase in deaths on interstates and highways. Still, not all drivers think higher speeds will equal dangerous impacts.


"I think most people speed either way it goes. So, five Miles wouldn't make a difference," said Colin Foot.

Jesse McKnight also expressed his concerns about higher speed limits and the conditions of our roads.

"We already know the interstates are not the best Interstate here in Mississippi," said McKnight.

"So, a lot of that needs to be attended to even before that even consider raising the speed limit."
 

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Maryland Proposal Would Boost Beltway, I-270 Speed Limits to 70 Mph

Maryland Proposal Would Boost Beltway, I-270 Speed Limits to 70 Mph.....


Maryland Proposal Would Boost Beltway, I-270 Speed Limits to 70 Mph

A Maryland state senator is making a push to have the speed limit increased from 55 mph to 70 mph on I-495 and I-270. Tracee Wilkins reports. (Published Friday, Jan. 19, 2018)

If you've ever driven the speed limit on the Capital Beltway or Interstate 270, you've likely watched a stream of cars speed past.

A Maryland state senator said it makes more sense for the law to catch up to the crowd rather than penalize drivers.

Maryland state Sen. Joanne Benson, of Prince George's County, introduced a bill on Thursday that would raise the speed limit on I-495 from 55 mph to 70 mph.

The bill would also increase the speed limit to 70 on I-270 and highways and interstates across the state.

"People will beep their horns, they flash their lights, they yell out the window, because they are saying you are slowing down the traffic," Benson said.

"When drivers use the beltway, they sense and they intuit that it should be higher than 55 mph, and they drive that," said John Townsend, spokesperson for AAA Mid-Atlantic.

Major Transportation Projects to Impact DC, Md., Va. in 2018
Townsend said the Capital Beltway was originally designed for 70 mph traffic.

"What really moved the issue was the energy crisis back in 1973, and the governor decided to lower the speed limit to 55 to conserve energy, ironically, and it's remained at 55 since then," he said.

Drivers have mixed reactions to the proposal for a 70 mph speed limit.
'Highway Robbery': Lawmakers Want I-66 Tolls Suspended

"It's hard to have someone travel at that particular speed and maintain it. It's not practical to me," one man said.

"From 55 to 70, I don't think that's a great idea, just because it's a lot of road rage already," a woman said.

"Seventy miles is really not that fast," another woman said.
 

rotarykid

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New Jersey Man Launches Petition To Raise Garden State Parkway Speed Limit to 75mph..

New 75 mph speed limit on Garden State Parkway? Senator's, petition say yes

New Jersey Man Launches Petition To Raise Garden State Parkway Speed Limit to 75mph....

LAKEWOOD, N.J. (CBSNewYork) — Drivers want the green light raising the speed limit on how fast they can go on the Garden State Parkway.

As CBS2’s Meg Baker reported Thursday, an online petition calls for the speed limit to increase from 65 mph to 75 mph. But some lawmakers say, not so fast.

Twenty years ago, the state bumped up the speed limit on parts of the Parkway from 55 mph to 65 mph.


Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon, R-Monmouth, tried unsuccessfully in the past to raise the speed limit to 75, citing traffic studies that claimed there would be fewer lane changes and therefore fewer accidents.

But the movement never really picked up enough speed.

Now, Lakewood resident Mendel Rosenfeld is revisiting the idea, starting a petition on Change.org to bump up the speed limit by 10 mph.

But the reaction from drivers who talked to CBS2’s Meg Baker, WCBS 880’s Sean Adams, 1010 WINS’ John Montone was mixed.

“I’d keep it at 65, That’s more than enough because people are going to go faster than that,” one man said.

“Good idea, I say they’re already running 75,” another man said.

“Traffic now allows you to go 75 I don’t think it allows you go 85,” one woman said.

“They’re doing it anyway, I don’t think it really matters,” another woman said.

“I lived in Texas for a long time and that was a perfectly acceptable speed limit,” a woman, named Deborah, said.

“I’m doing the speed limit. They are all passing me like I’m standing still,” John Mix said at the Cheesequake rest stop.

“It seems like everybody’s doing 75 now anyway, so I probably wouldn’t have a qualm with it,” Joe Ferrara.

But AAA spokeswoman Cathleen Lewis said there would be more involved than just declaring a higher speed limit. It has to do with the engineering of the roadway, she said.

“How many twists and turns in road; what the terrain looks like,” Lewis said.

Much of the parkway is 65 mph, but there are portions where the speed limit is 55. An increase to 75 would be a big jump, and there are other factors to consider.

“How quickly people are going to have to maneuver – are the exits? Are there rest stops? Are there quick turns that people are going to get over for?”

Lewis said. Those all have to be part of the factors.”

Assemblyman O’Scanlon said he has been working on legislation to determine safe speeds.

“Traffic safety engineers will tell you that the best way to set speed limits is you measure free-flowing traffic set the speed limit at or below what 85 percent of people are driving.

You’ll get safest, the smoothest flow of traffic,” O’Scanlon said.

O’Scanlon said knows most drivers are going over 65 mph as it is.

According to AAA, 94 percent of crashes are based on human error – the faster you go, the more likely you are to be injured or have a fatal crash. When a heavy object is going fast, it creates more damage – that is just pure physics.

O’Scanlon further said the speed limit cannot be changed on the entire highway, because conditions vary widely from crowded Bergen County down to Pinelands.
 

whitedog

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I just wanted to give an example of speed limits changed willy-nilly.

Just to the east of Bend it gets very rural, so the state raised the speed limit to 65 about a half mile from the city limits. There were a few wrecks there so they moved the 65 MPH to about 10 miles out of town where it turns from very rural to uninhabited.

So last year a guy died about a mile past the city limits at a fairly busy intersection. So now they have moved the 55 MPH zone about two miles out.

So, this section that they changed to 65 has been lowered to 45 in about a year even though traffic hasn't increased very much if at all in that time.

They should have looked at realistic traffic before changing things.
 

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You guys are lucky in the USA, talk about raising the speed limits.
Where I live, way back in 1974 our speed limits were 70 Mph with the crappy cars of that era. In 1974 they changed to 100 Kph which is 60 Mph and it still is the same.
Then we have some idiots who want to lower the limit even more.
But then in Ontario to get a drivers licence is easy and some minorities have one guy doing the test for everyone else!
I drive the Austin,Tx bypass which is at 85 Mph.
Even in Mexico the toll roads are 110 Kph and some 120 Kph, 66 Mph and 72 Mph.
 

rotarykid

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The PQ Would Like to Increase the Speed Limit on Quebec Highways to 120 km/h......

there may be another chance to get a limit increase to 120km/hr in Quebec if the political parti Québécois is elected to office.....


The PQ Would Like to Increase the Speed Limit on Quebec Highways to 120 km/h. Good Idea?

The Parti Québécois is committed to setting up a pilot project that would increase the speed limit from 100 to 120 km/h on certain highways, should it win the next elections and form a government.

The party previously tried to create a pilot project by proposing an amendment to the Quebec Highway Safety Code, but provincial transport minister André Fortin closed the door on that idea.

According to Fortin, increasing the speed limit on highways could increase the death toll on Quebec roads. He cited an American study in which every limit increase of 8 km/h increases the number of serious accidents by 8%.


The minister also recognized that allowing officers to apply tolerance as they see fit depending on weather or other road conditions is a good thing.
At a press conference last Wednesday, PQ MP Martin Ouellet said it’s time to put an end to the hypocrisy.

"Everybody in Quebec knows that when you drive on a highway, you will not be stopped driving a little above 100 km/h because there is a zone of tolerance applied by the police."

The PQ assures that it does not want to compromise road safety. They say their commitment to public safety is first and foremost.
Prior to the year 1978 when the SAAQ was founded, Quebec used to have 70 mph (113 km/h) speed limits. After the new 100-km/h limits were applied, road deaths declined sharply.

If such a pilot project is successful, the new limit (which might not even be 120 km/h) could be extended to all Quebec highways. A panel would be formed to determine the reasonable speed to establish.
 

PlaneCrazy

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The Parti Québecois has about the chance of a snowball in hell of getting elected; 120 seems to be the "de facto" limit. It is rare now to see cars doing much faster. Maybe 125/130 tops.

I'd support it, if it came with photo radar everywhere to enforce it, though I'd prefer 110 for fuel efficiency. With trucks governed at 105 I now drive at 110 to keep out of their hair. Sometimes they do 103-104 and it got to be a PITA with the cruise at 105; at 100, they're passing me which I didn't care for. It would take forever and I'd be in their blind spot and spray; I goose it up to 120 to pass, then settle back down to 110 to cruise.
 

romad

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What is the 85 percentile speed drivers are doing there? THAT is where the speed limit should be set. 110 kph is only a pokey 68 mph, 115 kph is only slightly better at 71 mph, but 120 kph is a more realistic 75 mph as that is what the most common 85 percentile seems to be. Of course the design/condition of the road has to be a factor.

Also what is best for freeways out in the western US & Canada would be higher than in the smaller states/provinces back east.
 

PlaneCrazy

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What is the 85 percentile speed drivers are doing there? THAT is where the speed limit should be set. 110 kph is only a pokey 68 mph, 115 kph is only slightly better at 71 mph, but 120 kph is a more realistic 75 mph as that is what the most common 85 percentile seems to be. Of course the design/condition of the road has to be a factor.

Also what is best for freeways out in the western US & Canada would be higher than in the smaller states/provinces back east.
You do have to factor in the appalling state of our roads, even the autoroutes, except maybe for Autoroute 20 which is the Trans-Canada and gets money from the feds. The rest is crap, very short acceleration and deceleration lanes, poor road surface, potholes galore, and trucks governed to 105 km/h making for a fairly big speed differential. I don't see many drivers exceeding 120 these days. It used to be a free-for-all, and if you pulled out to pass at 120, in an instant someone doing 140-160 was on your butt flashing his lights. Things have calmed down since.

I think a 115 km/h limit, photo radar, and 5 km/h "grace" would be OK. At 120 the problem is that the speed differential between cars and trucks starts to get quite big. It's easy to get stuck behind a truck doing 90-105 (some trucks are governed to 90 by the operator), with traffic whizzing by at 120 it's sometimes hard to find a slot to pull out to pass.

On most of my journeys of about 100 km, the time difference between driving the autoroute portion of my typical trips at 100 or 120 is very minimal. Not even 20%, more like 3-5%; there is still a 20 km portion on two-lane with stop lights, and heavier traffic at the city end too. Plus you always bump up against a semi doing 105 trying to pass another doing 103; and then in summer, the construction zones. I find 110 a good compromise between fuel efficiency, and not being stuck between a couple of big honking semis. I do have to accelerate to 120 to pass most of the time, but 110 to 120 is quick.

Since I drive a 4MOTION GSW now, I do have to work at keeping the fuel bite a bit more reasonable.
 

romad

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Sounds like Quebec roads are like California's! :D

Having different limits for trucks and cars is a large factor in accident causes. Either the limits should be the same for all, or cars should be restricted to isolated "car only" lanes so the "four wheelers" don't end up causing truck/car accidents due to speed differentials.
 

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LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) -- A bill that would allow higher speed limits on Nebraska state highways has won final approval in the Legislature, but it won't apply to Interstate 80.

Lawmakers passed the measure on a 44-1 vote Wednesday. They previously stripped out language that would have allowed speeds of up to 80 mph on portions of the interstate.

The current proposal would give the Nebraska Department of Transportation the option of increasing the speed limit on certain highways. For example, the speed limit for four-lane highways could go from 60 to 65 mph. Other expressways and freeways could see their limits increase to 70 mph, up from 65 mph.

The Department of Transportation would set the limits. Sen. John Murante, of Gretna, the bill's sponsor, says it would streamline Nebraska's roadways.

Not everyone thinks this is a good idea. The Insurance Institute of Highway

Safety says calls this move dangerous. AAA says an increase in speed means an increase in stopping distance. The traffic safety director says that distance can be the difference between life and death.
Opponents voiced traffic safety concerns. The bill now goes to Gov. Pete Ricketts, who has endorsed it.
 

rotarykid

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The posted limits should start to go up across Nebraska soon once the transportation zone commissions across the state approve sections of different roads & highways safe for the increases to 65 or 70mph.....

I hope the legislature again next year revisits raising I-80 to a posted 80mph across that long empty state.....

Kansas did exactly the same thing a few years ago, debated allowing 80mph on interstates only to settle on a new default maximum for all roads raising the posted across most of the state over the last couple of years from 60-65 to the now default maximum on all two-lane rural highways to 70mph posted today...

Colorado, please(are you watching?) raise the posted maximum to what is safely & comfortably allowed today(85mph on rural interstates & ~70-75 on the state's vast two-lane highway system)...
 

rotarykid

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NJ legislation requiring 85th percentile rule in setting freeway maximums

New Jersey legislature has had another effort put forward to requiring the 85th percentile rule be used when setting state freeway maximums....

Lawmaker Proposes Changes In NJ Speed Limits

A New Jersey lawmaker has introduced legislation that would require speed limits on major highways to be set at the speed at which 85 percent of drivers are traveling.

Senator Declan O’Scanlon says an artificially low speed limit increases the difference in speeds between the vast majority of drivers and those who adhere to the posted limit.

“When you have a difference in speeds you dramatically increase the number of passing maneuvers, the things that really irritate people, that cause road rage or cause people to make a mistake, miss someone in a blind spot, and cause an accident.”

Steve Carrellas with the National Motorists Association agrees that the proposed change would foster a smoother and safer traffic flow and won’t cause most drivers to go even faster.

“It’s just going to change the number to reflect what people are doing. What we have found is anybody who today is going on the very high end tends to slow down because the traffic flow smooths out once you have everyone responding to an appropriately set legal limit.”

Carrellas and O’Scanlon say a more realistic speed limit would increase public respect for other traffic laws.
 

rotarykid

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a bill to raise the North Dakota maximum to 80 mph

....a bill to raise the North Dakota maximum to 80 mph is up for consideration again in the legislature again....

Speed Limit Bill Proposes Increase to 80 MPH



Some lawmakers are backing a bill to up our interstate speed limits to 80 miles per hour. Our Malique Rankin explains what this bill could mean for drivers. House Bill 1264 is proposing to change the speed limit of multilane highways from 70 to 75. For interstates, increasing from 75 to 80.

The bill has highway patrol officers concerned.

Wade Kadrmas; HP Safety Edu Officer: "Statistics will show that speed is one of the leading causes of serious injury crashes."

Representative Jake Blum took a look at a different set of stats.

Rep. Jake Blum; (R) Grand Forks: "I've looked at other states: Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, South Dakota right here. Texas even has portions of its interstate at 85 MPH. And the imperial data supports that there hasn't been an increase in fatality or unsafe conditions."

What could a speed limit increase mean for your car in the long run? KX News spoke to a mechanic to find out.

Stephen Stockert is a mechanic and says the limit increase won't do much harm to your car.

Stephen Stockert ; Asst Manager at Capitol Heights Auto Clinic: "Nothing more than what there currently is with the speed limit at 75."

But it could have you burning more gas.

Stephen Stockert ; Asst Manager at Capitol Heights Auto Clinic: "Obviously the faster you go, the more gas it's going to take to get there."

Blum says this bill would get drivers to their destination faster.

Rep. Jake Blum; (R) Grand Forks: "So to me, this is all about efficiency. We're a pretty big state, wide open spaces, long distances between them. I view our state as a corridor of commerce."

Depending on your commute, Highway Patrol says speed may not make a difference.

Wade Kadrmas; HP Safety Edu Officer: "That five miles an hour is only going to shave off maybe a second or two from point a to point b, so there's a really no time benefit."

The bill is expected to be back in committee in the next few weeks. Last session, a similar bill to increase the state's speed limit failed.
 

2000alhVW

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Didn't read the whole thread...sorry, not sorry.

Just going off the title and the vibe of the thread, which seems to be concerned with increasing speed limits. Positively concerned, as in eager to see them rise.

I'm a bit caught... As someone who received the absolute highest possible speeding ticket (among ~10 other speeding tickets) before being arrested and put in jail (99 in a 70 in Virginia, at 30 over, vehicle impound and jail time is mandatory), I clearly have little respect for speed limit signs.

On the other hand, I don't see a reason for anything to be above 70. I'd be very happy to see little-to-no enforcement of the speed limit, but see no reason for over 70.
I drive 500miles/week from Morgantown WV to Wash DC. ~160 miles of that is on a 2 lane freeway through the woods with 70mph SL. I usually maintain ~80. Even at that speed, I feel guilty of drastically reduced MPG, and other needless wear&tear or inefficiencies. Additionally, if your car is not decently-to-very-well maintained, it's not a good experience.
I've owned ~30 cars, and driven even more. Even a slightly loose tie rod, or one wheel losing a single balance weight can really 'shake things up,' literally.

There's always that lifted bro truck riding your *** for 20 miles, then flooring it, disappearing into the horizon at 100 mph, but I don't think most people are interested in this.

In DC, the speed limits are exceedingly frustrating. 55mph on the beltway. Everyone does ~72. Sometimes I'll be in court, and hear someone fighting a speeding ticket of ~75mph on the beltway. And it's just this utter BS because literally everyone in the room (including judge and Police offer) are blatantly aware of the flow of traffic.
Maybe raise that one to 65 or 70 but anything more is a bit excessive.
 

romad

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Didn't read the whole thread...sorry, not sorry.

Just going off the title and the vibe of the thread, which seems to be concerned with increasing speed limits. Positively concerned, as in eager to see them rise.

I'm a bit caught... As someone who received the absolute highest possible speeding ticket (among ~10 other speeding tickets) before being arrested and put in jail (99 in a 70 in Virginia, at 30 over, vehicle impound and jail time is mandatory), I clearly have little respect for speed limit signs.

On the other hand, I don't see a reason for anything to be above 70. I'd be very happy to see little-to-no enforcement of the speed limit, but see no reason for over 70.
I drive 500miles/week from Morgantown WV to Wash DC. ~160 miles of that is on a 2 lane freeway through the woods with 70mph SL. I usually maintain ~80. Even at that speed, I feel guilty of drastically reduced MPG, and other needless wear&tear or inefficiencies. Additionally, if your car is not decently-to-very-well maintained, it's not a good experience.
I've owned ~30 cars, and driven even more. Even a slightly loose tie rod, or one wheel losing a single balance weight can really 'shake things up,' literally.

There's always that lifted bro truck riding your *** for 20 miles, then flooring it, disappearing into the horizon at 100 mph, but I don't think most people are interested in this.

In DC, the speed limits are exceedingly frustrating. 55mph on the beltway. Everyone does ~72. Sometimes I'll be in court, and hear someone fighting a speeding ticket of ~75mph on the beltway. And it's just this utter BS because literally everyone in the room (including judge and Police offer) are blatantly aware of the flow of traffic.
Maybe raise that one to 65 or 70 but anything more is a bit excessive.

Things are far different from the East coast. There the states are small with most less than 10,000 sq mi in area. Maryland is 9,775 sq mi and is roughly 120 miles by 240 miles so it can be crossed within 2.5 hours at your preferred speed of 70.

However the states get larger as you move west and the plains states are flat and extremely rural. Thus to cross North Dakota from east to west would take 5 hours at 70 but only 4 hours at 80. So higher speed limits make more sense out west with Texas being a good candidate for 85 on the western parts of I-20 & I-10.
 

2000alhVW

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I fail to see how the size of a state (lines drawn on a map) has any influence on your vehicle speed. Other than an anxiety/psychological thing

I do understand how decreased likelihood of an accident (less populated —> less drivers on the road, very flat straight roads, etc) May have some effect, but “cruising” at 90mph wherever you are is just simply excessive
 

romad

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I fail to see how the size of a state (lines drawn on a map) has any influence on your vehicle speed. Other than an anxiety/psychological thing
Do. The. Math.

A trip of 8 hours @ 70 miles per hour = 8*70 = 560 miles

The same 8 hour trip @ 80 mph = 8*80 = 640 miles

To cover 640 miles @ 70 mph would require at least 1 more hour of driving, or more than 9 hours.

I figured by comparing the distance to cross a tiny state like Maryland to cross a huge Western state like North Dakota (WHICH is the TOPIC of the post you didn't bother to read) it would be evident that higher limits are needed in the west. However, your very first sentence above tells me you didn't comprehend what I was trying to show. Thus I have tried to make it clearer.

I agree that in Maryland and other tiny states back East, a speed limit of no more than 60/65 might be sufficient. However the larger states back there such as NY, PA, VA, etc., might be better off at 70/75.
 

2000alhVW

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Do. The. Math.

A trip of 8 hours @ 70 miles per hour = 8*70 = 560 miles

The same 8 hour trip @ 80 mph = 8*80 = 640 miles

To cover 640 miles @ 70 mph would require at least 1 more hour of driving, or more than 9 hours.

I figured by comparing the distance to cross a tiny state like Maryland to cross a huge Western state like North Dakota (WHICH is the TOPIC of the post you didn't bother to read) it would be evident that higher limits are needed in the west. However, your very first sentence above tells me you didn't comprehend what I was trying to show. Thus I have tried to make it clearer.

I agree that in Maryland and other tiny states back East, a speed limit of no more than 60/65 might be sufficient. However the larger states back there such as NY, PA, VA, etc., might be better off at 70/75.
you completely missed the point, but okay.
 

rotarykid

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Many of the western States showed during the 55 era , the DOT's documented lower limits made travel less safe from the extra hours these uncomfortable to travel at political maximums created what came to be known as the deadly hours. Deadly hours are done away with by allowing vehicles, when we are allowed to legally travel @ safe design minimums of 85mph. Most miles outside of urban areas are safely traveled everyday @ 80-90mph. Allowing vehicles to travel @ safe design min max speeds can cut hours off the drive between western cities.

I have to say that unless you are forced to cross these big empties in the west, assigning an arbitrary max to places you are not required to cross while just getting around these areas, like a 70 max on roads that safely traveled @ 85-90mph today all day long misses the real point here.....

The point of all of my posts is that for poated limits to actually have a positive impact on safety they must be related to what drivers & the engineers say is the speed that should be allowed, safely allowed by posting 85th percentile maximums....
 

romad

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As an example, San Bernardino County here in California at 20,100 sq. mi. is 62% LARGER than Maryland at 12,400 sq. mi. and that includes Maryland's part of the Chesapeake Bay. If we just use Maryland's land area only (9,774 sq. mi.) then San Bernardino County is TWICE the size of Maryland.
 

rotarykid

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Currently 9 states are currently considering raising maximums....


Oklahoma & ND once again pushing forward with legislation to have 80 mph posted on rural freeways....

California & Indiana are looking into passing law to do away split lower allowed maximums on heavy trucks...55 to 65 allowed in CA, with Indiana looking to bring heavy truck limits from 65 today up to 70 which would be the same as all other traffic
...

Missouri & Iowa are once again trying raise their allowed maximums for all traffic from 70 today to 75 which is closer to averages obsevered across the states today....


Nevada is finally at the end of their multi year study efforts to see where higher limits up to 80mph posted are safe. The end of last week NVDOT anouced more 80mph posted zones are coming soon across the state....details to be released on which specific stretches of highways & freeways will see posted maximums rise as high as 80mph. It has been hinted that some of the state's current 70 posted zones on other types of roads & highways could also see maximums rise as high as 80mph posted under the soon to be released study suggestions....

Minnesota is currently in the process of raising maximums across the state on all 5000 miles of the state's rural highways system...this process of raising limits to 60mph began in limited fashion ~4 years ago. During that time all the data collected shown the 5 mph increase was safe to implement the increase state wide over the state's 5000+ miles of highways system....
 

rotarykid

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Oregon is looking at changes in laws to allow more local of setting maximums without the current requirements that say a speed study must be done before changes in posted is allowed....all of the DOT data collected from around the world says this is a bad idea which to speed traps put in place for revenue collection which make travel less safe....
 

rotarykid

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7 States Follow Michigan’s Example, Working to Raise Speed Limits

here is a specific story that has more specific info on possible limit changes in some of the states.....


7 States Follow Michigan’s Example, Working to Raise Speed Limits
By Steve Sweitzer - January 29, 20192166

Do you love to travel? Many people do, I love it. Traveling for work I have seen many great parts of this country. Generally, I drive, sometimes long distances. The wife tags along to help behind the wheel. We both enjoy seeing new scenery.

Still, traveling is ultimately about getting there. With the safety advancements in today’s cars, high-speed travel across highways is possibly as safe as it’s ever been. More on that later.

Highway Speed Increases in Michigan


Photo Credit: CBS Detroit
In 2017 Michigan’s Department of Transportation increased speeds on a number of the state’s highways. You might not have noticed some of them. The closest being I-69 from Swartz Creek to East Lansing going from 70 mph to 75 mph.


Michigan Department of Transportation
Seven More States Raising Speeds or Considering Such in 2019

California: Source = leginfo.legislature.ca.gov

A bill (Assembly Bill #172) introduced by Assembly Member Randy Voepel would make changes to truck speeds. Existing law prohibits a person from driving certain vehicles, such as a motor truck or truck tractor having 3 or more axles or a motor truck or truck tractor drawing any other vehicle, upon a highway at a speed in excess of 55 miles per hour.



This bill would authorize a person to drive a motor truck or truck tractor having 3 or more axles, or a motor truck or truck tractor drawing any other vehicle, in rural areas at a speed of up to 65 miles per hour.
Indiana: Source = The Chicago Tribune

“Rep. Michael Aylesworth, R-Hebron, has introduced a bill that would enact uniform speed limits for cars and trucks on rural interstates authorizing trucks to travel 70 mph.”

Iowa: Source = www.legis.iowa.gov

State Senate Bill No. 26 would raise the speed limit on Iowa Interstate Highways from 70 to 75 mph.

Minnesota: Source = Department of Transportation

The Minnesota Department of Transportation is increasing speeds on 5,240 miles of state highways based on the recommendations of a five-year study released this week. The speeds will increase from 55 to 60 miles per hour.

Of the 7,000 miles studied, speed limits ultimately will be increased on 77 percent of rural, two-lane state highways, according to the final report. New speed limits go into effect once new speed limit signs are posted. Most of the signs posting the new speed limits are in place, with the rest expected to be up by spring 2019.

Missouri: Source = Legiscan.com

A bill introduced into the state legislature proposes raising the maximum speed limit on rural interstates and freeways of the state from 70 to 75 miles per hour.

North Dakota: Source = www.legis.nd.gov

House Bill #1264 proposes raising the speed limit from 70 to 75 mph on divided highways. Also to raise the speed limit from 75 to 80 mph on restricted access highways.

Oklahoma: = Legiscan.com

Oklahoma Lawmakers are considering raising the speed limit on Oklahoma’s Turnpike from 75 to 80 mph.
 

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Is the American Autobahn next? How states are pushing highway speeds past the limit..

Could California be the first state to put unregulated with no numerical speed lanes back in the US.....?.....


Is the American Autobahn next? How states are pushing highway speeds past the limit

Chris Woodyard, USA TODAY Published 6:16 a.m. ET Feb. 22, 2019 | Updated 5:42 p.m. ET Feb. 24, 2019

"We have routinely seen studies that show when states raise speed limits, they can expect higher deaths," said Maureen Vogel, spokeswoman for the National Safety Council.

Seven states — Idaho, Montana, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and Wyoming — have allowed 80 mph speed limits on select highways. One, Texas, has 85 mph on a section of State Highway 130. Legislatures have upped limits as cars have become safer and more powerful and the price of gas has tumbled, lowering concerns about the poor fuel mileage that high-speed driving can bring.

Yet the resulting higher speeds haven't made much of a statistical dent in highway deaths, the Governors Highway Safety Association reports.

In 2017, there were 9,717 speed-related deaths from among 37,133 total road fatalities. Those speed-related deaths were down 574 from 2016, were about the same as in 2015 and up 434 from 2014.

In California, Moorlach doesn't think safety will be a showstopper when it comes to his no-speed-limit plan. He said crash concerns haven't dampened enthusiasm for the German Autobahn, a haven for speedsters for decades. In announcing his plan, he pointed to a World Health Organization report that estimates road traffic deaths at 4.1 per 100,000 people in Germany compared with 12.4 in the U.S.

His bill would add four lanes to two highways, Interstate 5 and California State Route 99, for drivers who want the convenience of going without a speed limit.

The lanes would be in place of finishing the first leg of California's high-speed rail line, derided as the "train to nowhere" by critics because the first leg wouldn't connect to either Los Angeles or San Francisco, the whole point of the line as originally envisioned.

Making matters worse, the Trump administration announced last week that it would cancel $929 million in funding needed to complete the first segment of rail.

After California Gov. Gavin Newsom said this month that building the entire bullet train line would be too expensive and take too long, Moorlach said a brainstorming session resulted in the American Autobahn idea. Adding lanes would be expensive, but it is "still a whole lot cheaper than $77 billion," the latest estimated cost of the rail project.

It may be cheaper, but it won't be safer, experts complain.

Higher speeds not only can increase the frequency of crashes, but the severity as well since vehicles smash into each other at higher combined speeds.

More: 'Probably safer': What it was like when states had no speed limits

"You can change speed limits, but you can't change physics," Vogel said.

A study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that the lives of 33,000 motorists and their passengers would have been saved if there had been no speed limit increases between 1993, when states posted highways at either 55 mph or 65 mph, and 2013.

Opinion: California bullet train setback shouldn't be end of the line

More: Trump tweets about California's plans for high-speed rail. Gov. Newsom responds: 'Fake news'


Another IIHS study that looked only at the effect of raising the speed limit to 80 mph in Utah estimated that an increase in traffic speed of only 3 mph, to 78 mph, increased the chance of fatalities by 17 percent.

The other problem is that even with higher limits, people tend to drive faster than they should.

Having gone on trips to Utah and Nevada, where other motorists sometimes whiz by at 90 mph, Chuck Farmer, vice president of research for IIHS, said, "Personally, I find it very uncomfortable."

"When higher speed signs go up, not only is traffic moving faster but some motorists immediately start exceeding the new posted limit," said Jonathan Adkins, executive director of the Governors Highway Safety Association. The effect is a "double whammy" on the average speed of traffic.

He calls speeding "the forgotten issue" in traffic safety. It's ignored because so many drivers push the limits.

'Probably safer': What it was like when states had no speed limits.....
Chris Woodyard, USA TODAY Published 6:12 a.m. ET Feb. 22, 2019 | Updated 7:41 p.m. ET Feb. 24, 2019

No highway speed limits? For some Nevada and Montana motorists with long memories, that's what made their states special.

As California deals with a proposal to remove speed limits through its Central Valley, there are those elsewhere in the West who remember what it was like to be happy leadfoots who didn't have to worry about speeding tickets.

Nevada and Montana were holdouts when it came to not having speed limits in sparsely populated, wide-open spaces. Some might say that was crazy.

"It was probably safer than it is now just because there weren't as many people," recalls Toni Mendive, 76, an archivist at the Northeastern Nevada Museum in the town of Elko. "There was just more common sense then."

As a result, Mendive said she doesn't recall driving a car any faster than 70 mph – even though she legally could have gone faster.

Some did. Elko newspaper publisher Warren "Snowy" Monroe became the stuff of legend when he raced an airplane about 300 miles from Elko to the capital of Carson City in days before the speed limit – and won.


Speed limits have become as American as federal income taxes. Connecticut was likely the first to enact speed limits at the dawn of the automotive age in 1901. But in the rugged West, both Nevada and Montana clung to their independent ways until Congress, with President Richard Nixon's blessings, clamped down with a national speed limit in 1974 after the gasoline shortages.

It was the dreaded "double nickel" – 55 mph.

While Nevada and Montana lost their policies of limitless highway speed, they did find a way around the federal policy. Both limited tickets to low-cost penalties that didn't penalize drivers' records. The crime wasn't deemed speeding. Rather, it was wasting energy.

A Montana newspaper, The Missoulian, which compiled a history of state's dealings with the speed limit, said the penalty was $5. Some drivers kept a wad of $5 bills in their glove compartments so if they were pulled over, they would be ready to pay the fine on the spot. In Nevada, the penalty was $15.

In 1995, when Congress removed the 55 mph speed limit, Montana took away its speed limit and went without once again, the Missoulian reported. But it was reinstated in 1999 after a state supreme court ruling, but set at a maximum of 75 mph. In both Nevada and Montana, the speed limit can now go as high as 80 mph.

Still, the age without a speed limit in Montana kindles nostalgia. Coming of age in Missoula, Gordon Noel said everyone drove fast. The goal was to just stay on the road. It didn't help that cars of that age, like the 1950 Chevrolet he started driving when he was 16, were far more primitive than those today. They didn't have safety systems, advanced suspensions and better tires.

"On a fast, straight stretch of road I could go 80 mph, but most of the time you didn't dare," said Noel, 77, author of a new memoir of growing up in the Big Sky Country State, "Out of Montana."

Noel, a Harvard graduate who became a physician, said his dad drove even faster.

"My father would say he needed to 'blow the carbon out' of his car. We would see how long it would take to get to 100 mph," said Noel, who now lives in Portland, Oregon. But at least he and dad were always able to stay focused on the road.

"We certainly didn't keep our eye on the speedometer because we were worried about the speed limit," he added.
 
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Bill to up speed limits on Oklahoma turnpikes, rural highways clears Senate committee

Oklahoma legislature advances speed limit increase bill last week....




Bill to up speed limits on Oklahoma turnpikes, rural highways clears Senate committee


By Barbara Hoberock Tulsa World Feb 19, 2019 Updated Feb 20, 2019

OKLAHOMA CITY — A legislative panel on Tuesday passed a bill that could result in increased speed limits on turnpikes and highways in rural areas.

The Senate Transportation Committee passed Senate Bill 648 by Sen. Joseph Silk, R-Broken Bow.

The measure would increase the maximum speed to 80 mph on turnpikes. Some turnpikes have a 75 mph maximum speed. The state’s two urban turnpikes, the Creek and Kilpatrick, have a maximum speed of 70 mph.

The measure would also increase the maximum speed to 75 mph on rural sections of the interstate highway system.

It allows the Transportation Commission to make such designations.

“Provided, however, the commission shall determine prior to the designation of such segments that public safety will not be jeopardized,” according to the measure.

The measure passed by a vote of 7-1. Sen. Carri Hicks, D-Oklahoma City, voted against it. Hicks said she had some public safety concerns about the measure.

The bill heads to the Senate floor for consideration.

Transportation Secretary-designate Tim Gatz said he has some concerns about raising the speed limit on turnpikes, adding that they are not designed for such speeds.

In addition, increased speeds also put road workers at risk, he said.

Gatz said he plans to visit with Silk about his concerns.
 
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