[1exotic]

AUSTIN, Texas -- The Texas House has given final approval to a bill that could up the speed limit on some highways to 85 mph.

The Texas Senate is considering a similar bill, which would make the state's speed limit the highest in the nation.

The measure by Brenham state Rep. Lois Kolkhorst, which won initial approval Wednesday, is part of a larger transportation bill. Final approval came Thursday.

The bill would authorize the Texas Department of Transportation to raise the speed limit on designated lanes or entire stretches of roadway after doing engineering and traffic studies. Texas currently has more than 500 miles of interstate highways where the speed limit is 80 mph.
Critics have raised safety and fuel-saving concerns.


http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/04/08/big-texas-house-approves-85-mph-speed-limit/

85 MPH so that's 137 KM/H

what's the limit on the highways around here like 80/90 km? lol.

[tool001]

yes we should, be not on a 2 lane highway where people have enuff trouble following posted limit

[dark0821]

well... more encouraging news...

source: http://www.autoblog.com/2011/04/11/opinion-time-to-raise-the-speed-limit-how-does-150-mph-sound/

Time to raise the speed limit, how does 150 MPH sound?


Ever since automobiles first appeared over 100 years ago, every automaker has tried to make them go faster. And they succeeded. Nearly every year, cars became more powerful with higher top-end speeds. But then, in the mid-1950s, we hit a plateau. The national speed limit was set at 70 miles per hour, and we've been stuck at that rate ever since. As a result, the automobile has made absolutely no progress as a transportation device in over half a century.

Actually, in 1974, it got worse. The national speed limit was lowered to 55 mph, ostensibly to save fuel and lives (it did neither). Such an agonizingly slow rate of travel proved too much to take for most Americans. We demanded that the limit be raised, and we got it back to 70 mph. Now it's time to demand another raise.

I'm not talking about some sort of modest increase to, say, 85 mph. We need to put a comprehensive plan in place to gradually move the limit up, over the next couple of decades, to 150 miles an hour. And we need to do that with no sacrifice in fuel economy or safety.

People tell me it's impossible or crazy to design passenger cars to go 150 mph. But do you want to know why German luxury cars are so good? Because they're designed to go 150. In fact, most of them have speed limiters on them. Otherwise, they'd go faster.

Speed itself is not a safety hazard. It's the difference in speeds between cars that lead to accidents. Somebody driving 50 mph while all the cars around them are flashing past at 70 mph or greater is creating a hazard. But if everyone is going the same speed, the situation is a lot safer – even at much higher speeds.

Just like today's Autobahn, some sections of highway would have lower limits, while others would be set at the maximum. The speed limit could also vary depending on the time of day and traffic load.

Before this decade is out we're going to see big strides in vehicle-to-vehicle communication, using radio frequencies and GPS. We've already got adaptive cruise control and radar-controlled braking. Put it all together and we're literally on the verge of making it almost impossible for cars to crash into one another, even if the driver fails to act. In the next decade, we're going to see the first commercialization of autonomous technology, where cars can literally drive themselves. That opens up the door to a 150-mph speed limit on national highways.

This technology also creates the opportunity to use what the transportation experts call "platooning." Cars could travel in packs, or platoons, in a nose-to-tail file not unlike the NASCAR guys drafting each other. But in this case the cars would be electronically linked together. And that kind of drafting would produce significant gains in fuel economy.

A 150-mph speed limit would transform automotive transportation. I daresay no one would ever again take an airplane ride of 500 miles or less. It would be so much faster and convenient to drive – no more pat downs from the friendly TSA agents!

Setting this kind of stretch goal would unleash a frenzy of R&D activity, create new companies, grow new jobs, and produce an economic boom much like building the Intestate Highway System did. It's just a matter of getting our heads around the idea.

Back in the 19th Century, Queen Victoria stipulated that any time she travel by train it was prohibited from going more than 40 miles an hour. The thinking was that going any faster than that was harmful to one's health. We laugh at that concept today, just as, later in this century, they'll laugh at us for thinking that driving 150 mph was dangerous.

[JqC]

I would love this new limit on our highways, but C-lais' can barely handle 50km/h.

[MG1]

I would love this new limit on our highways, but C-lais' can barely handle 50km/h.

I was going to say that.......... too many fucked up shitty drivers here. Raise the speed limit only after Asians learn to drive, LOLOLOLOLOL.

Seriously, I'd be going 150 in the fast lane and some C-Lai will just switch lanes in front of me for no fucking reason... then she'd be like, solly, solly.........

j/k

[Soundy]

They can do it in Texas, because anyone who drives like an idiot would get shot.

[ae101]

i say just to what germany does & fuck the speed limit

[Jgresch]

I dont think my car can reach 137 kmh lol

[Narayan]

I dont think my car can reach 137 kmh lol

That's where the issues come in... If everyone is going 137km and over cars are going say 90 or even 100... that's when accidents happen.

[JesseBlue]

^ i don't understand that sentence

[asian_XL]

German has autobahn, should we follow?

[ae101]

canada has the trans-canada highway lol & yes we should :fullofwin:

[shenmecar]

That's where the issues come in... If everyone is going 137km and OTHER cars are going say 90 or even 100... that's when accidents happen.

^ i don't understand that sentence

Better?

[xilley]

I would love this new limit on our highways, but C-lais' can barely handle 50km/h.

they can barely handle 5 km parking without hitting the curb

[Santofu]

As a Novice driver who follows the speed limit, it's hard to stay under the limit while the flow of the traffic is going much faster, so I had to go faster just in case to avoid accidents.
But now i have class 5 next week, I'm basically screwed for speeding.
Canada need to increase their speed limits.

[ae101]

when ever we go to COQ to visit my grandma & uncles we always go though downtown of new westminster & the speed limit is 30km, me & my dad goes WTF all the time cuz thats just stupid & how one day my dads gonna give them a piece of his mind but he never does

[!LittleDragon]

Highways in China have different posted speed limits in each lane.

[baggdis300]

As a Novice driver who follows the speed limit, it's hard to stay under the limit while the flow of the traffic is going much faster, so I had to go faster just in case to avoid accidents.
But now i have class 5 next week, I'm basically screwed for speeding.
Canada need to increase their speed limits.

if you can't NOT speed then well, you got problems..

its not difficult to just go the speed limit for the class 5, heck i got demerits for going too slow! on my class 5....

[The_AK]

i say just to what germany does & fuck the speed limit

i heard somewhere that there might be a possibility of a limit being set on the autobahn, correct me if im wrong

[MelonBoy]

As a Novice driver who follows the speed limit, it's hard to stay under the limit while the flow of the traffic is going much faster, so I had to go faster just in case to avoid accidents.
But now i have class 5 next week, I'm basically screwed for speeding.
Canada need to increase their speed limits.

:speechless: If you cant control your speed for 30-40minutes during a road test.. then you shouldn't be driving period. Also "I had to go faster just in case to avoid accidents" what the hunk of bull shit excuse is that lol..

[slammer111]

This will never happen in BC. Pansy politicians are too scared for any increase in road death stats. Like seriously, 80km/h on the Sea to Sky in the summer?? Are you kidding me?

150MPH will never happen though. The problem is that EVERY car will need to be able to handle that speed before you can raise limits that high. Also, fuel consumption will be a problem. Anyone who's studied aerodynamics knows that drag is proportional to the square of your speed. So even if your car is 2x as aerodynamic (pretty much impossible unless you want to drive a teardrop-shaped vehicle), you'll still be burning a ton of fuel at that speed, killing any gains in engine efficiency and emissions.

The OP's post is pretty cool. Last time I checked they were only approved to 80MPH. This brings them in line (and beyond) some European countries. Good on them. :D

[MG1]

Good on Texas for taking the lead. Let's see how this affects the statistics on accidents over there.

I honestly don't think it will work here. The roads, not to mention the climate, are not great for high speed travel.

[Hehe]

I think the idea of raising the speed limit is good.

Automobiles' technology is advancing daily. A car designed today is capable of being faster, yet safer (brake faster, better frame construction... etc) to a car designed in the 80s.

I think if Canada can have 10 lanes highway like US do, we could make the innermost lane with no speed limit (while imposing a minimum travel speed of course).

And aerodynamically, if we want to design Civic or Corolla capable of reaching 120MPH easily, it sounds unreal today because they would have to make them all like Lambo or Ferraris. Nevertheless, same thing was said decades ago making cars to go 60MPH.

With higher demand, auto manufacturers would develop ways to do it efficiently. There's little to none incentives right now. But if there's a demand, company would follow.

[MG1]

technology is advancing, but so is the level of dumbness

[Lomac]

BC already has a road with no speedlimit. ;)
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[Glove]

agreed,

80km/h on a highway is absolutely insane,

people get frustrated and start weaving around traffic, then accidents happen.

increase all limits by 20,

except school zones,

done.

[RiceIntegraRS]

^i agree, my mom n dad are in there mid 50's and i witnessed them driving 10-20kmh ovrr the speed limit all the time. Its not that hard to be driving at that speed at all. If u cant handle it than maybe ur brain is just too dam slow for u to be on the road. technology has made cars more safer and more easier to drive and has been for decades yet, speed limits are still the same
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[PavelGTR]

i say just to what germany does & fuck the speed limit

Definitely would not work here.

[dark0821]

^ what he said

if our license test were like germany standard, more than half of us wouldnt even be qualified to have a license.. and C-Lais will never get one, cuz you need to be able to hold your car in a "slide" /+/ you have to able to change ur spare on the side of the road...

I would have trouble on the skidpad with the holding slide part.. so i wont even have a license lol

[TouringTeg]

I was just on the Autobahn in Germany last week. As pointed out in the article there are sections that have speed limits. Their signs are all digital and stretch across the highway so they can easily change the limits based on road conditions.

Btw when someone crashes at 200km/h plus it is messy. A couple of cars had crashed on the other side of the autobahn near Munich creating a huge back up 4 lanes wide and at least 20 km long with no one getting passed.

80km/h on some highways here is extremely painful.

[baggdis300]

the thing is the way the highway barriers are designed.

they want to dissipate the speed by bouncing back and forth, sure it makes a huge mess but saves lives at 200km/hr + speed doesn't kill the instant deacceleration does.

[lol]

i heard somewhere that there might be a possibility of a limit being set on the autobahn, correct me if im wrong

From my understanding, the autobahn highways have speed ranges for each lane. The furthest left lane being no limit. So technically they already have speed limits on it.

[dogeatcookie]

Highways in China have different posted speed limits in each lane.

They also have speed cameras every 500 meters lulz.

[gars]

I love how everybody compares us to Germany - when most of the people have never driven there.

I was seriously surprised when I was there - that even though I was driving 175km/h in my little VW Polo - on stretches of the AutoBahn - as soon as you hit the city - everybody drives 50km/h. Not 55, not 60, but 50 on the dot. Yes, some of the people push the limit when you remove the limits there, but where there are limits, people follow them to the tee. Something that would never happen here.

[optiblue]

We live in a city run by tree hugging yuppies. We can only go slower from here on out!
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[Bouncing Bettys]

We have some of the shittiest paved road surfaces in the western world full of potholes, rutted, plenty of dips and bumps. I'm all for raising the speed limits but I'd want to see a massive upgrade to the roads to go along with it. Places like Germany invest a hell of a lot more in their roads than we do.

[LP700-4]

Hehe, whole new class of driver? Should be that you need to take a test to obtain a sticker which allows diff limits......

[The_AK]

agreed,

80km/h on a highway is absolutely insane,

people get frustrated and start weaving around traffic, then accidents happen.

increase all limits by 20,

except school zones,

done.

My thoughts on this:

I think partially whats happening is that gov't anticipates people speeding. At 50 km/h if accidents occur they're quite dangerous but not as costly. Then we have our people that exceed the limit by 10-15 km/h which of course becomes much more dangerous but police still are lenient on these speeders. Then anything OVER that starts to get more expensive from an accident point of view and therefore people get ticketed.

Now if you were to raise speed limits by 10-15 km/h, people would be traveling at a higher rate of speed but what would happen is that you would STILL have your people who choose to exceed the speed limit. Now accidents at these higher rates of speed would become more deadly/expensive.


Folks assume that if you raise the speed limit people will stop exceeding the speed limit altogether because now the speed they normal travel at fits within the limit. Not true, people will still speed because people are impatient with others and will do what they can to get around them.

Ask yourself this, how often do you speed during the day when there are other cars on the road vs late at night when you're alone driving down the street.

Thoughts?


technology is advancing, but so is the level of dumbness
its proven that people take more risks with safer vehicle features

[Nlkko]

We have some of the shittiest paved road surfaces in the western world full of potholes, rutted, plenty of dips and bumps. I'm all for raising the speed limits but I'd want to see a massive upgrade to the roads to go along with it. Places like Germany invest a hell of a lot more in their roads than we do.

University Blvd? Pt Grey Rd? The holes are as big as the foot of an elephant. I accidentally drove over one at only 50 and it felt like my car was gonna break apart.

I personally don't think the low speed limit is there because the government give 2 shits about how many c-lais are on the road or that they anticipate people speeding. It's there to make money. If anything, high speed limit doesn't eliminate entirely people speeding but it should discourage it, due to the fatality of accidents. It also discourage j-walking fags on a busy street (w 4th) at rush hour. Furthermore, if our government were truly interested in protecting us from ourselves, it would raise the penalties on distracted driving. There are hundreds of studies out there showing that the act of talking on the cell phone (hands free or not) is dangerous. And no one is in debate that texting while driving is dangerous. In fact, one study found texting while driving was worse than driving drunk.

And just for the record, in the States, the original speed limit was imposed by Congress in March of 1974 as an attempt to deal with the 1973 oil crisis and reduce energy consumption. It has since been repealed, allowing states to impose their own speed limits. Cars' engines consume much more energy to go a little faster. From an environmental standpoint, yes, it makes sense but the consumer should be able to make the choice. However, from a safety standpoint the 55 mph speed limit makes little to no sense. The danger is not speed. The danger is variances in speed, and distracted driving.

People always associate high speed with accidents. To me, a guy speeding in his own lane isn't as dangerous as a guy changing lane without signaling, braking hard for no reason, not yielding or simply distracted.

I doubt Vancouver would ever raise the speed limit. Because it's a "green" city no?

[The7even]

technology is advancing, but so is the level of dumbness

dumbininity, stupid..

[Wongtouski]

i heard somewhere that there might be a possibility of a limit being set on the autobahn, correct me if im wrong

There are, if I'm not mistaken only 20% of it does not have a speed limit.

[Culture_Vulture]

Texas eh? Increasing the speed limit would only help drug smuggling operations once they cross the border :D

[lol]

I doubt Vancouver would ever raise the speed limit. Because it's a "green" city no?

More than likely if there are any changes to the speed limit, it will be a decrease.

Vancouver is without a doubt the tree hugging enviro-friendly granola capital of the universe. If any other city dares to be as green as us, we will just add more bike lanes or something.

[TouringTeg]

There are, if I'm not mistaken only 20% of it does not have a speed limit.

Yes lots of it has speed limits of 100 km/h. At least between St Goar and Munich where I was.

[Vale46Rossi]

More than likely if there are any changes to the speed limit, it will be a decrease.

Vancouver is without a doubt the tree hugging enviro-friendly granola capital of the universe. If any other city dares to be as green as us, we will just add more bike lanes or something.


On the subject of that Gregory Robertson should be hit by a car when he is riding his stupid bike.