Tuesday 12th June 2012

Texas to introduce 85mph speed limit

Yee-hah etc, as Lone Star state brings in second-highest limit in the world

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Not the subject of an 85 limit. But still a road in Texas

A new stretch of highway in Texas is to become first US road with an 85mph speed limit, the Texas Department of Transportation has revealed.

The new road - named Texas State Highway 130 and running between San Antonio and Austin, if you were wondering - will be the second-fastest limited road in the world, with only some roads in Poland and Germany that have 140km/h limits (about 86mph) being faster. Of course, there are also the unrestricted sections of Germany's autobahns to consider, but they don't have limits at all...

Drag racing, Texas style

Texas has form as the fastest stat, too. It and Utah are the only states with an upper speed limit of 80mph already. Although before the oil crisis-induced 55mph speed limit was brought in across the US in 1974, some roads in Montana and Nevada had no limits at all.

We wonder what the British road safety lobby would make of this, considering how exercised they're getting about a planned trial of 80mph limits on some UK motorways... though no doubt it will be the perfect place to give your Ferd F-Teenthousand a run out...

[GingerWizard]

That road in the picture is good for about 140mph in my book.....

[Dagnut]

Depends on what car you're driving...I think it should be weight restricted..

Stopping an F450 from 85mph is completely different proposition from stopping a Z06...and also the obvious impact of failing to stop an F450 @ 84mph compared with a normal saloon car

[Yorkshirepud]

Never reaslised that's why the US had a 55mph limit. Why don't they just use more efficient engines like the rest of the world?

[MarkoNoTVR]

"No replacement for displacement". Part of the American constitution.

Not complaining based on a ride in Sagaris with a 7L LS lump in it......I know it feels to be a photon now.

[cay]

Kind of makes sense.

OK, not Texas but I remember driving through Death Valley, the road was fairly straight, empty and went on for about 400 miles! The limit was 55 IIRC.

I ended up doing around 80-90 just to stay awake, luckily there weren't any troopers hiding out as I probably would have ended up in front of the local judge!

[Snowman23]

Realistically, this is the UK motorway 'speed limit', based on my experiences over the years of driving on our lovely motorways anyway

I wonder what the tolerance for speeds above 85 will be in Texas?

[MattDell]

I've driven once from central Montana to western(ish) Montana. 8 hours of nothingness, you can understand why the speed limits are higher and the enforcement is even less-so.

Oh, and that's right... 8 hours and we didn't even go halfway through the state.

-Matt

[nobby c]

Snowman23 said:

Realistically, this is the UK motorway 'speed limit', based on my experiences over the years of driving on our lovely motorways anyway

I wonder what the tolerance for speeds above 85 will be in Texas?

Having driven in Texas many times over the years my guess will be virtually zero,having been pulled over a few years ago for 57 in a 55!

[nobby c]

Snowman23 said:

Realistically, this is the UK motorway 'speed limit', based on my experiences over the years of driving on our lovely motorways anyway

I wonder what the tolerance for speeds above 85 will be in Texas?

Having driven in Texas many times over the years my guess will be virtually zero,having been pulled over a few years ago for 57 in a 55!

[torque torque]

everything is bigger and better in Texas..

[M400 NBL]

I know it's not flat, but the road in the pic is ideal for vmaxing.

As long as the roads are, they aren't wide like motor/freeways, so 85mph is a reasonable speed limit.

[Hoofy]

GingerWizard said:

That road in the picture is good for about 140mph in my book.....

Until you hit that lump in the distance and go airborne, landing in the hills. Doesn't help that the road veers off to the left after the jump.

[300bhp/ton]

Some places in Montana in 1996 had no daylight speed limit, only a limit at night. Got a picture somewhere of one of the sign posts.

[ecs0set]

Hoofy said:

Until you hit that lump in the distance and go airborne, landing in the hills. Doesn't help that the road veers off to the left after the jump.

Even the little dip 200 feet away would seriously discolour your trousers at 140mph!

[Hoofy]

ecs0set said:

Even the little dip 200 feet away would seriously discolour your trousers at 140mph!

Aye. But at least the road continues so you may be fine. If you hit the lump straight on. And your tyres have equal grip.

[300bhp/ton]

tut tut tut



cough cough


Some seriously quick too.

[CraigyMc]

300bhp/ton said:

Some places in Montana in 1996 had no daylight speed limit, only a limit at night. Got a picture somewhere of one of the sign posts.

It was a limit based on "reasonable and prudent", whatever that means.
I think in practise it meant 100mph or so in daylight, with good driving conditions.
Looking up the dates it was from 1995-1999. The limit these days is 75mph, whihc sadly was the limit the last time I was in Helena.

C

[Bodo]

article said:

...will be the second-fastest limited road in the world, with only some roads in Poland and Germany that have 140km/h limits (about 86mph) being faster...

There were discussions in the past to try a 140km/h limit on 42km of autobahn in Niedersachsen; however I've never seen it installed. So no 140 limit in Germany; the highest I've seen is 130.

[mgrays]

Some of the existing roads that are 80mph are not that nice (lumpy back road trunk roads between San Antonio and Houston) but then you get back to the freeway (Dual carriageway) and 55mph limit where 85mph needs you to be alert for plod but can be done.. odd times it is both lanes at that speed in places but not very often. Of course it is the freeways that should be 85mph .. but that is not what has had it's limits raised.

Heard many moons ago about "revenue raising forces" where one dog town would have 2-3 squad cars financed by passing out of town traffic i.e. it was their "industry". Never seen or heard anyone back this up though but used to be careful on that count when wandering around.

[Sicob]

Never seen anyone drive through a DIY store. Let alone at 85mph. Would make paint selection tricky.