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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Only 41 miles for 85 miles per hour? Sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.
minutes man. minutes.
The speed limit's already 75 on I-10 west of San Antonio, and east between San Antonio and Houston. And in 1995 there was no speed limit on the interstate in Montana- the signs said "Reasonable and Prudent". And, the Toll road from south austin to round rock/620 has been open for years, and people regularly go 85 on it anyway since there is never traffic when I-35 is always gridlocked. It's only good for bypassing austin- if you use it to go to north austin, you still have to exit onto 71 near the airport, or 290, and sit in the traffic there. You could go all the ay around then backtrack south from 620 onto 183/research blvd, but it takes the same amount of time in the end and costs tolls. It just beats sitting in gridlock. Only benefit will be for through traffic and truck drivers (if they use it), since trucks are about 75% of the traffic on I-35 from Laredo to Dallas. Finally, they built the tollbooths, but then closed them, so you need a TX Tag anyway to use most of it. Which defeats the purpose.
What? The speed limit on I-35 isn't already 85 mph?
Guys are already flying at that speed, sometime even more, without being caught, so why not make it legal. But then those guys will step upto 95 and 100, who knows!!!!!!
And that's the problem.
The speed limit on Toll 45 in Austin is 75. The speed limit on 130 from Georgetown to Buda is 80. The speed limit on IH 10 in West Texas is 80. SH 130 was designed and constructed for traffic at speeds up to 90 and it is a controlled access highway. 85 is really not much more than existing systems
drive 85 and if you come out lucky after accident then rick Perry will give capital punishment
Isn't that one of those foreign-owned tollways in Texas? there's one in Dallas too.
North Texas Tollways, in particular those on the Dallas side of the Metroplex actually had no speed limit whatsoever. Oddly enough the legislature (oops) failed to set a speed limit. Later they tried to introduce one. I think it would be an interesting test to question the retroactive power of the Texas legislature given its biennial nature. Eight-five miles an hour is nothing – the Germans had 100 mile per hour Autobahns before WWII.
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Speed doesn't kill; Bad drivers do....
You wanna avoid accidents then make it harder for people to get licences with proper road training and tests. Unlike in Virginia where a hobo, who has no idea how to go around a corner can go into DMV and comes out with a piece of card.
If you think about it, there's a lot of bad drivers out there. Bad drivers are much more dangerous driving 85 MPH than they are 55 MPH.
Not every accident is caused by driver error. In just my county, for instance, there are over 10,000 deer-car collisions every year. I'm sure some could be prevented through better training, but nowhere near all.
Meanwhile, the impact energy in a collision increases as the square of the impact speed. A collision at 85 mph has almost 50% more energy than a collision at 70 mph.
Speed kills.
It doesn't really bother me that this is the case. What's troubling is that Texas and so many others try to deny this simple fact.
I've made it up to 185mph...in Germany...It's not a daily thing...It's not safe to do very often. Point being, the driver needs to know how fast is safe, and when not to even try it. Most of the time I don't break 140mph. That's roughly a safe speed given a pretty clear road, drivers that are paying attention, a car that's designed for those speeds, and highways in good repair. Without all that (most of which is lacking in the states), the speed limits should be much lower. I'll be moving back to the states soon where adjustment will be necessary...In Germany though, at least they have the right idea...High speeds are only on highways(Autobahns) that are in good repair. Construction zone speeds are slow(35mph), max speed in town is 30mph, between towns is 60mph...Again...Ideal conditions are a must. Also, drivers licensing is a more stringent process as well as the penalties for unsafe driving, and vehicle safety standards are higher as far as maintenance is concerned, and highway construction is performed by qualified professionals, making top quality driving roads...
Just my two cents
YES! 85 glorious mph. I live right on the 45 toll road and can now visit family in Seguin much more easily than taking that hideous stretch of I-35 thru San Antonio. I despise I-35 about as much as your basic Tea Partier despises Obama.
Heaven help you if you ever wind up on I-35 anywhere near Austin on a UT home game weekend. Hope you packed for the day, 'cuz that's where you'll spend most of it parked ~ on I-35. >:P
Text and drive at 85...hmmm
I rode in taxis in NYC that hit 85+
That's New York.
85 not a good speed for Texas.
Obviously you don't know much about Texas. Here in Houston, that's not an unusual speed at all on I-45, I-10, Hwy 59,Hwy 290 and the Beltway8 and Loop 610. Of course, one drives for the conditions of the weather and the road, but on a wide open 6 lane hwy with clear visibility, go for it.
Ummm, yeah because nothing's safer than driving 85 MPH in a state that's as congested as NY versus a state that's as wide open as TX.....
There may not be more accidents at 85mph, but when they happen the results will be far worse. Be careful, folks.
and yet someone will still get in the left lane and do 55.
Not only that when it does get more congested they insist on giving 20 car lengths in front of them. So naturally a huge gap from the slower right lane will attract divers, they move over, the guy slows to get back his 20 car gap and the process repeats...if you are stuck behind him, it's like you are in reverse.
And then adding insult to injury TexasMike, when you get on the right lane to go to pass them, and cut in front of them, they get mad and honk their horn.
I've always stated that road rage isn't so much a product of our society's short temper as it is our society's lack of being courteous drivers. Show me a road rage incident and I'll show you the precursor to that road rage via some inconsiderate driver that initiated the act of road rage.
@TexasMike I know what you mean about the 20 car lengths, but at 85mph, 18-20 car lengths is actually the distance for a 3-second reaction time separation.
And if someone is going 30 mph under the limit, I'm pretty sure that's breaking the law, so hopefully there won't be much of that happening.
Hope you like your checkstops because its gonna look like germany in the thirties real soon. Papers! You have your Papers?