Yeehaw! Texans who brag they do things bigger and better now can go faster too.
State transportation officials on Thursday boosted speed limits on two stretches of rural highway from 75mph (121kph) to 80mph (129kph) — the United States’s highest posted speed limit.
More speed signs will be changed in the next few days in 10 mostly rural counties in West Texas: a 695km stretch of Interstate 10 between El Paso and Kerrville, and 143km of Interstate 20 between Monahans and the I-10 interchange at the cusp of the Jeff Davis Mountains.
Congress set a national 55mph (88kph) speed limit in the 1970s but it was abolished in 1995. Twelve states besides Texas have speed limits of 75mph (121kph) on some roads.
While drivers on I-10 can blow by the sleepy town of Sonora, highway safety advocates warn the higher speeds will cause more fatal crashes.
”This will result in more deaths. The research is pretty clear about that,” said Russ Rader, spokesperson for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. ”You get someplace faster, but at what cost?”
The legislature first approved raising the speed limit from 70mph (113kph) to 75mph (121kph) in 1999, and then approved the bump to 80mph by a unanimous vote last year.
”You can repeal the speed-limit law, but you can’t repeal the law of physics. People don’t survive crashes at these excessive speeds,” said Tom ”Smitty” Smith, Texas director of the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen.
State officials say the roads can accommodate the higher speeds.
”We studied it,” said Transportation Commission chairperson Ric Williamson. ”These are parts of the state where higher speeds is a safe decision.”
Mike Behrens, executive director of the state transportation agency, said the new speed limit will affect only a fraction of the state’s 70 000 highway miles.
The affected roads are mostly straight shots through the West Texas flatlands that get relatively little traffic.
Agency studies found 85% of drivers on those highways are already cruising between 76mph and 79mph (122kph and 127kph), said Carol Ranson, deputy director for traffic operations.
”We feel the speeds are safe for the driving public,” Ranson said.
But Rader said many drivers push beyond the speed limit if they can do it without getting a ticket. Drivers cruising at 80mph to 85mph (129kph to 137kph) now are likely to push to 90mph (145kph) if they can, he said.
As for those high gasoline costs, the Department of Energy says that gas mileage decreases rapidly after 60mph (97kph). The government estimates that every 5mph (8kph) over 60mph is like paying an extra 20 cents per gallon (3,8 litres) for gas.
Williamson said the state isn’t responsible for drivers ”who choose to consume their wealth”. — Sapa-AP