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Thread: 85 MPH speed limit in Texas

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    Default 85 MPH speed limit in Texas

    Texas testing out section of major route to have an 85MPH (~137km/h) limit. I think this is a great idea. Higher speeds = more attentive drivers. In the US going 10mph over the speed limit does not guarantee a ticket. As long as you are driving properly and following the flow of traffic, the cops are content. With higher speeds everyone pays attention meaning fewer accidents. I have been driving here for 2.5 yrs now and have seen maybe 5 major accidents. Calgary you see that in one month. Now, if only the FnF crowd does not abuse this.


    Critics say higher speed limits will lead to more fatal accidents, but McDaniel said the safest roads are ones where all motorists are traveling the same speed. Studies of drivers on that stretch of highway now show most are traveling about 85 mph, he said. "The more people we can get to travel a uniform speed, the safer are the conditions that will exist,"

    http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/0...8H7F4P20120607


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    Sigh. Never happen here, cuz speed kills yah know.. ...
    Too loud for Aspen

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    I don't necessarily agree that "high speeds = more attentive drivers" - just too many people who would still do 20-30kph under a 130kph limit here (if such a thing came to be). While I would wholly support higher highway speed limits, I also believe that it would be incumbent upon our police forces to actively get the slower (read dangerous) drivers off of these same roads - the #2 to Edmonton for example can easily handle traffic flowing along at 130kph. But stick one driver out there at 100 and there is a problem and those drivers are always out there. Just once, I'd like to see the police to start pulling over the bozos that are not up to speed even at the limits that are currently set in Alberta - goofs doing 80kph in the center lane of Deerfoot, pull them over and ticket them. Going too slow as compared to the flow of traffic is just as dangerous as the lane changing idiots going considerably faster than the traffic flow.
    Will fuck off, again.

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    I think this is a great idea. Lots of people are driving these speeds (or close to it) anyhow.

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    Good! When I go 140kms/h on the highway I don't need to have some voice telling me I'm going to kill someone since I'm being such a bad ass out there.

    I swear Calgary has the worst fucking drivers in the world. So many retards.
    Originally posted by rage2
    Shit, there's only 49 users here, I doubt we'll even break 100
    I am user #49

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    Ya I don't know where you got that attention increases with speed. **Maybe** at first when 137 feels fast, but If you do that every day for 6 months, a year do you think you'd pay the same amount of attention or would you become complacent and 137 would be the new 100???

    Sorry I'm just not down with every clueless soccer mom in a caravan ripping around at 130+kph....

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    ^^^

    Of course you aren't. Stay safe. Slower traffic keep right.
    Originally posted by rage2
    Shit, there's only 49 users here, I doubt we'll even break 100
    I am user #49

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    This isn't about me being a grandma driver man haha. Just look at your comment below and can you honestly say you think it would be safer to allow the people you refer to in your post to drive at higher speeds??? It just makes zero sense to me...

    Originally posted by max_boost

    I swear Calgary has the worst fucking drivers in the world. So many retards.

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    Never been to Texas but I'm sure their infrastructure along with their drivers are 100X better than Calgary.

    Yes, make Stony Trail 140kms/hour. So I can go 189kms/h and not get a pink ticket.
    Originally posted by rage2
    Shit, there's only 49 users here, I doubt we'll even break 100
    I am user #49

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    I find that our low speed limits keep me watching my speed and not the road. When I am more laid back and carelessly go over the limit it feel more comfortable and I am more alert to my surroundings.

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    Originally posted by speedog
    But stick one driver out there at 100 and there is a problem and those drivers are always out there.
    That is the Alberta way. I was in Calgary last week and realized again why I HATE the driving there. I get nervous as soon as I got 65 in a 60 zone. The speed limit in Alberta is very dangerous. People feel that they can drive at the speed limit in any lane while being distracted every which way. I was being a considerate driver when I would signal to switch lane just to have the other car slam on their brakes to let me in. Over here, I do the single click signal and merge over. All drivers maintain speed. Driving in the US is much more organized. I never look at the speedometer to tell me if I am driving safe, I look at the traffic around me.


    Originally posted by J-hop
    Ya I don't know where you got that attention increases with speed.
    When the entire traffic flows at a higher speed, drivers know that they have to follow the flow. This does not mean that they hit the limit and go back to being distracted. There are exponentially more soccer mom vans in the US, and most will never be in so much as a fender bender.

    Originally posted by narou
    I find that our low speed limits keep me watching my speed and not the road. When I am more laid back and carelessly go over the limit it feel more comfortable and I am more alert to my surroundings.
    This!
    Last edited by Godfuader; 06-10-2012 at 09:54 AM.


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    A couple of weeks ago in our trip down to Montana I decided to not give a crap about the speed limit down there and from the border to Great Falls I was between 130k and 160k. The roads were straight, somewhat flat, and traffic was quite light. Under the circumstances, I did not feel I was being unsafe in any way whatsoever; my wife is pregnant, so I'm not about to put her or my unborn son in undue danger.

    Nobody can pick an arbitrary number and claim it to be the "safe limit". There are so many factors involved: Weather conditions, road condition and construction, traffic, driving experience, what you're driving, etc etc.

    If they deem that 85mph is safe at this particular location then the stats will either prove or disprove it. But good on them for at least giving it a try. I think what is really going to happen is now everyone is going to want to go 95mph-100mph.

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    Originally posted by Godfuader


    When the entire traffic flows at a higher speed, drivers know that they have to follow the flow. This does not mean that they hit the limit and go back to being distracted. There are exponentially more soccer mom vans in the US, and most will never be in so much as a fender bender.
    Where are you coming up with this though. What img getting at is on beyond the answer is always "increase the speed limit" and the backing people use for this is some idealistic sense that all drivers will magically go with the flow and further go on to use non applicable or misrepresented statistics from places with driving conditions nothing like Calgary.....

    And I don't get the watching speed argument. I don't need a speedo to tell me what 50kph or 100kph feels like and if you are within 10kph of the speed limit you likely aren't going to get pegged. If you are doing what you think is 50 and look down and you are doing 65 you probably werent pay attention, and if you have to stare at your speedo to maintain within 10kph of 50kph than you probably shouldn't be driving haha
    Last edited by J-hop; 06-10-2012 at 10:08 AM.

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    Speed limit: The maximum speed at which a vehicle may legally travel on a particular stretch of road.

    We don't have a speed minimum posted so people feels its ok to drive 90 on deer foot because they are under the limit.

    The ticket would be impeding traffic but I have yet to hear of someone getting one.
    I wouldn't see it being unreasonable to set up a reversed speed trap.
    If your not going a certain speed it takes a picture. For instance if you are not going above 85k on deer foot, you should not be driving on deerfoot.
    People might come back with, it's scary to go 100 and in which case their license should be revoked and a bus pass handed back instead.

    How many times have you slammed the brakes because buddy in front of you got in your lane doing 10-20 under you?
    Now how many people behind you had to do the same because the flow was interrupted. Shitty part is, 4 cars back, someone doesn't stop quick enough in time and smash. Now there's an accident to really screw up the flow of traffic.

    If all of Calgary, well Alberta actually, would follow posted speeds, leave the left lane for people that want to do 10 over or to pass on a highway, and merge into traffic at proper speeds I garuntee we wouldn't see the 3-4 lane highway stopped dead in its tracks.

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    Utah has stretches of 85mph already.....when I brought back the evo, I'm not kidding when I say blending in was easy at 100 mph......made great time across that state

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    Originally posted by Godfuader
    That is the Alberta way. I was in Calgary last week and realized again why I HATE the driving there. I get nervous as soon as I got 65 in a 60 zone. The speed limit in Alberta is very dangerous. People feel that they can drive at the speed limit in any lane while being distracted every which way. I was being a considerate driver when I would signal to switch lane just to have the other car slam on their brakes to let me in. Over here, I do the single click signal and merge over. All drivers maintain speed. Driving in the US is much more organized. I never look at the speedometer to tell me if I am driving safe, I look at the traffic around me.

    When the entire traffic flows at a higher speed, drivers know that they have to follow the flow. This does not mean that they hit the limit and go back to being distracted. There are exponentially more soccer mom vans in the US, and most will never be in so much as a fender bender.
    Exponentially? Really? Do you even really know what that word means and how something grows exponentially?

    That said, I'd dare say the older brown guy that cut in front of me on Deerfoot doing about 80kph while I was plodding along at 110kph in the left lane earlier this week didn't ever bother to do a shoulder/mirror check and certainly, my sphincter puckered up just a wee bit as I had to quickly slow down and also very closely look for an escape route as the overloaded transport truck in my rear view mirror just wasn't about to easily scrub 30kph off of his speed without using my vehicle as his personal crumple zone - that brown guy certainly did not appear to be any bit aware of following the flow other than his own flow.

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    Originally posted by max_boost

    I swear Calgary has the worst fucking drivers in the world. So many retards.

    I guess you have never been to Toronto then.

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    My parents live in Houston and I can tell you that the roads are set up very differently there. The I-10, which is Houston's Deerfoot Trail, is 24 lanes across. The roads in texas are built around volume of traffic to make sure that traffic can flow at all times of the day. The 85mph speed limit is pretty much the speed everyone follows anyways. Policing is Houston is done based on dangerous driving, too slow or too fast. If every one is driving 30 over, and there's no hazards, they don't care.

    The roads in Calgary are built with zero planning for volume (see Deerfoot at Anderson Rd). HWY 2 needs to be at least double the size for it to support a higher speed limit. Speed doesn't kill anyone on highways, its the heavy variances in travelling speeds. 140-150 is very safe on the road provided great grandma didn't take the Buick out to roll at 80. If the highway between Calgary to Edmonton was 8 lanes across and had a 130kph speed limit, there would be significantly fewer tickets, and significantly fewer accidents. One of those is much higher priority to the cops...

    Originally posted by Arash
    Im not an idiot...

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    Originally posted by J-hop
    ...and the backing people use for this is some idealistic sense that all drivers will magically go with the flow and further go on to use non applicable or misrepresented statistics from places with driving conditions nothing like Calgary.....
    Correct. Calgary cannot magically adopt a drive fast mentality. It will take years of reasonable/gradual speed increases in new builds to condition drivers. I'm glad the ring road is 100 vs 80. People will be conditioned to drive ~100 from the start. If that seems too fast, hopefully those drivers will stick to the inner roads.


    Originally posted by speedog
    Exponentially? Really? Do you even really know what that word means and how something grows exponentially?
    I apologize for my use of dramatic words versus dictionary referenced words.

    The rest of the post just proves the dangerous driving habits of some Albertans. Hopefully the next generation of drivers will look at the holistic idea of driving inclusive of the speedometer, traffic, conditions, etc. A dream we can all agree on.


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    Why do people say in texas that policing is not done on speed?

    No one goes over 10 mph over the limit on the interstates. When I go down there all my friends and family tell me not to go over 10 over as you will likely get pulled over.

    Of course there is the odd car that goes faster. But it's rare.

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