The saying goes that everything is bigger in Texas. This fall that will apply to speed, too.
The Texas Transportation Commission has approved an 85-mph speed limit for a new toll road between Austin and San Antonio. It will be the highest speed limit in the United States, according to local news reports.
The toll road is a 41-mile stretch of Texas State Highway 130 known as Segments 5 and 6, running from Mustang Ridge near Austin to Seguin outside of San Antonio. If motorists drive at the speed limit, they'll cover the 41 miles in less than a half hour.
The 85-mph limit surpasses the current high in the United States, set on portions of Interstate 15 in Utah and sections of I-10 and I-20 in west Texas, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
But are the higher speeds safe?
The Insurance Institute says the higher the speed, the more dangerous for the motorists. Higher speeds limit reaction times, increases braking distances and put stresses on safety equipment in cars and on roads, the institute says.
"There are limits to the amount of crash energy that can be managed by vehicles, restraint systems and roadway hardware such as barriers and crash cushions. The higher the speed, the higher the likelihood that these limits will be exceeded in crashes, limiting the protection available for vehicle occupants," according to the institute's website.
Texas officials say safety won't be compromised by the higher speeds.
"Safety is our top priority and tests have shown the designated speed is a safe one," Mark Cross, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Transportation, is quoted as saying by the Texas Tribune.
The SH 130 Concession Co. which built and will operate the toll road, says motorists bear responsibility for safety.
"We are committed to operating a safe, reliable highway for our customers. On any road, drivers hold the key to safety based on traffic, travel conditions and the capabilities of their own vehicles," the company said in a statement, according to the Houston Chronicle.
Tolls have yet to be set, but whatever they are drivers won't have to slow down to pay them.
"There will be no toll plazas on segments 5 & 6 of SH 130. Tolls will be collected electronically at certain points along the roadway, meaning motorists will not have to slow down or stop. Traffic will be 100% free flowing," according to The SH 130 Concession Co., which was formed by the Spanish construction company Cintra and the Texas company Zachary American Infrastructure.
Officials hope drivers will use the highway to avoid and alleviate congestion on Interstate 35, which the toll road operators say is more congested in the area than at any part in its entire length, from Canada to Mexico.
"We look forward to opening this segment of SH 130, which will help reduce congestion for the Austin-San Antonio corridor by providing Texas drivers and others with an alternate route for traveling through our great state," Cross told the Texas Tribune.
The toll road is required to open by November 11 but may open sooner.
"We are confident we will be open ahead of schedule,” Chris Lippincott, spokesman for the SH 130 Concession Company, told Texas Weekly.
While the higher speed promises quicker trips for drivers, it also means more money into state coffers. The concession company will pay the Texas Department of Transportation a $100 million bonus for the 85-mph limits, the Texas Tribune reported. If the limit had been set at 80 mph, the bonus would have been only $67 million, according to the report.
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85 miles per hour is still not fast enough to get out of the denuded Hellscape of Texas.
Where I live people already drive 85 or more on interstates.
Finally, a more reasonable speed limit for that type of road. I only wish other states would follow their lead.
Hopefully the Texas DOT will also post "left lane for passing only" signs all over the place to remind slower drivers.
Guy walks into a Texas bar, and says gimme a beer.
Bar maid put her hand on his chest saying "my what big chest you have".
Man said yep mam, everything is big in Texas.
As she served up his beer she said, my what big strong arms you have.
Man said yep mam, everything is big in Texas.
She stared at his crotch saying, let me in on a little secret. How big are you?
The man replied 3". She said 3"? She said that ain't very long! He said you don't understand mam. She said hows that? He said that's 3 inches in diameter, everythings big in Texas.
3" diameter is considered "big" in Texas?
Blind man walks into a bar in texas. He walks up to the bar and has to climb up on the stool. Wow, he says to the barmaid these are some really big stools. Barmaid says, " Sure, everythings big in Texas." What'll you have, she asks the man. Give me a small beer. So she gives him a beer. Wow, says the man this is a big ole beer, I wanted a small one. That is a small one, she said. Everything is bigger in Texas. Well, after a few beers, he had to use the restroom and asked where it was at. Barmaid says it's down the hall and second door to the right. So he feels his way down the hallway and goes throught the second door on the left, which is where the swimming pool is, and promptly falls into the pool. All of a sudden the barmaid hears a commotion coming from the pool area and runs back there to find the old man floating in the pool hollering " Don't flush. Don't flush."
I can't drive 55. I think there were studies about deaths during the 70'a on the hazards of driving over 55. Something to the effect every 5 miles over 55 the more deaths reported. Not to mention the people who will be rear ended because they will still drive 45 on the highways. May the studies begin again and the extra gas being used.
Not me. Glad to see you are not me. Cannot stand truth can ya troll. Boring day at the office? Or just mad cause Mitt doesn't have any plans yet? KMA
You can wait for google car that drives on its own. It has 10x faster reaction than human drivers. It could go 150miles/hours safely, especially when cars will start communicate. I hope that my next car will drive itself.
Any modern vehicle can be safely driven at 85mph as long as it is properly maintained. Most modern cars can safely be driven at 100mph+. The issue with safety comes into play when people take their already dangerous pickup truck and jack them up in the air and try to drive like they are in a European sports car. I locked over 100k miles on the Autobahns in Germany and very rarely drove under 100mph even in traffic. I've hit speeds of 160mph and was even passed while driving at those speeds. Understand that drivers in Europe actually drive sensibly it is illegal to pass on the right, slower traffic moves to the left and drivers actually adhere to these laws. If you are flying low at speeds greater than 120mph typically all it takes is for you to blink your headlamps and drivers will actually move out of your way. Imagine that courtesy on a motorway. If we could learn from the Germans we could easily open up thousands of miles of interstate to higher speeds and make traveling more enjoyable.
^slower traffic moves to the right people only stay in the left lane when traveling at high speed or to pass, typo up there
Funny thing is most people are already doing 85 on the highways . Every time I do the speed limit I get my doors blown off . However when I am in Germany people are doing 100 plus mph . In Germany on the autobahn I do 220 km or 135 mph . In the past American made cars were not allowed on the autobahn due to the way they were built .
It's already 80mph on most of that anyway. I live just off of 130 in Round Rock and use it all the time to go to San Antonio or to head down to Corpus or Houston. The picture in the article make it look like it's nothing but curves and flyovers, when it's actually wide lanes, wide shoulders, and seems like on long straight road. It's not crowded, you'd be hard pressed to see more than 4-8 cars within a mile of each other at any given time of the day. Like others have said, people drive 80+ anyway, and you don't see many idots going 90+ like some of you think. It's a very comfortable and safe drive, unlike the bumper to bumper traffic from S. Austin to Georgetown.
It's not crowded because it costs something like 20 cents per mile, making that less than 60 mile stretch almost $10. Might get some traffic at a more reasonable price. Traffic on the alternative I-35 through Austin is more than a real mess.
Normal highway speed here in north NJ are 80 – 85. Sometimes on the NJ Turnpike, the average speed in the left lane is over 100 mph. Problems are on certain roads that are not limited access, some folks seem to think they should be going 80 on a road with traffic lights (that has posted 45 – 50 mph speed limits).
My car calculates the mpg as I go, and the mpg increase as the average speed increases. Average speed of 75 mph gives you better mileage than average speed 55 mph.
As for 130 mph in Germany, when they have an accident, it is HUGE, 20, 30 cars. You don't get those kind of huge accidents in the US unless the visibility is really bad and people can't see to stop.
People already drive 85 mph . In Germany people drive 100 plus on the autobahn .
Pretty cool. Posted 85 translates to 100 actual. You wouldn't be speeding until you hit 103
burning more gas, presenting a greater danger to motorists, increasing carbon emmissions why not. yeehaw. showing the rest of the country why we should let mexico have em back one day at a time.
You make zero sense. We already drive 75-85mph on city freeways. No need to blame this on Texans. I'm all for sticking it to the right wing, but you sound just as bad as them.
My vette gets 30mpg at 80 mph. You fail.
85 is the normal speed I see most drivers driving already .
i drive 85 all the time. the speed limit may be 55 but i have to keep up with the flow of traffic on I95 in florida
You're not kidding. That average speed, some days, on the long lone stretches on the turnpike easily average 88 MPH here in Florida, and I-595 can be a NASCAR-like experience of very nearly (withint just a few feet) of bumper-to-bumper traffic doing 78 to 80 MPH anyway. THe people criticizing this haven't ever been out on those long, desolate stretches that attempt to connect Texas together as a state.
Why would you go to Texas? I can drive 130 miles/hour on German highways – there is no limit.
In the south, 85 is an average speed for most interstates. 70 is the posted limit, but most drive much faster.
But wait Gov. Rick Perry, where is our high speed rail???
Doh - "Higher speeds limit reaction times" - "reaction time" has nothing to do with how fast you're driving, unless you're traveling at close to the speed of light of course.