Texas opens fastest hwy in nation, 85 mph. Is it too fast??

[curteric]

Back in the early 90's I was coming east on I-94 in Montana. The posted speed limit was "Reasonable and Prudent". I was driving a Mazda RX7 Convertible. The car was only a couple of years old, never winter driven, low miles, very good tires. The tires on the car are speed rated for 150 MPH continually. Just east of Billings, I went until the speedometer pegged at 160 MPH, WOW what a rush. I can tell you that it is hard to keep up with the road at that speed. I did however hold my basic speed at around 95/100. The car really handleds and drives well at that speed. It was comfortable. I also got passed by a Dodge pickup with a Cummings diesel, pulling a 6 horse gooseneck trailer, a dolly and another 6 horse gooseneck trailer, he had at least 12 horses. He was doing better than 100 MPH.
I still own the car only drive it for Sunday afternoon cruises, maybe a trip to visit the kids. It's more fun to drive at or just below the speed limit so the gawkers can get a good look, as they pass me.

[BUGEYE]

First of all, I didn't tell you to break the law. That's just a BS smokescreen you've thrown up for lack of a substantive argument.

some folks suggest that I should stay off the interstate.  not throwing smokescreens, just saying mind your own business.  I make a point to drive safely, having seen 70 years of mayhem on the highway.
most wrecks used to caused by alcohol and/or speed, now when you throw in cell phones.....

CRASH FORCES DOUBLE WITH EVERY 10MPH INCREASE IN SPEED OVER 50MPH.
http://www.smartmotorist.com/traffic-and-safety-guideline/excessive-speed-is-a-factor-in-one-third-of-all-fatal-crashes.html

[Anna]

Wanna bet , that with all these new cars that look and act like an expensive sports car. Some well to do people who love those kind of cars had a lot to do with this.
And from what I have always heard from Texans about a pet peeve thay have always had about their cars and want it gone is . Get that stupid looking and ugly license plate off the front of my expensive
and sleek new sports car! It's why so many Texans find a way to register those cars over here in
NM . Here your only required to have the one on the back. And you also don't have to have an entire
book of inspection stickers and permits stuck along the drivers side of your windsheild !

[williamlayton]

The Mustang I own has no front plate---it is on a shelf in my garage.
Blessings

[BUGEYE]

First of all, I didn't tell you to break the law. That's just a BS smokescreen you've thrown up for lack of a substantive argument.

some folks suggest that I should stay off the interstate.  not throwing smokescreens, just saying mind your own business.  I make a point to drive safely, having seen 70 years of mayhem on the highway.
most wrecks used to caused by alcohol and/or speed, now when you throw in cell phones.....

CRASH FORCES DOUBLE WITH EVERY 10MPH INCREASE IN SPEED.
http://www.smartmotorist.com/traffic-and-safety-guideline/excessive-speed-is-a-factor-in-one-third-of-all-fatal-crashes.html

More smoke on your part, irrelevant to the discussion of RELATIVE speed, and inaccurate as well. The force doubles with every 41.4% increase in speed, not every 10 mph. That's elementary physics, and known to anyone with a reasonable education.

there's plenty of studies by people smarter than you and me.  you are trying to justify speeding and it don't work.
race cars have G-force measuring devices so they know what another G can do to the car and the driver.  besides, SPEEDING MAKES YOU A CRIMINAL. a criminal is one who does not obey the law.
speed limits are in place for a reason, the faster the speed, the more deaths.
if you want to drive 85mph, move to Texas.  RELATIVE speed doesn't mean a thing on the interstate.  if you cannot see a car/truck in the right lane doing 55mph, then you are either blind, drunk, stoned,exceedingly careless or lacking some brain cells.
I've driven on interstates for almost 54 years, and ain't been run-over yet.

[D Fischer]

What difference if someone is killed in a wreak at 55 mph, 65 mph or 85 mph. I think no speed limit is better and everyone is responsible for the way they drive and whatever they cause to happen. Enforce reckless driving illegal parking! By the way, I find about 62 mph works for me just fine.

[Conan The Librarian]

I've never seen the word hubris in the context of a discussion on traffic control.

[yellowtail3]

if you want to drive 85mph, move to Texas.  RELATIVE speed doesn't mean a thing on the interstate.

Absolutely false - relative speeds are very relevant to safety on the highways. Two cars or bikes running 90mph with appropriate separation are perfectly fine. If one is doing 90 and the other 50, there is much more to go wrong. Differences in speed are hugely significant.

Why the heck do you think they have minimum speed limits on highways?

[mcbammer]

Texas ain't the first...Atlantans have been driving 85 for years...
 
Ben

Yeah       I-85   

[BUGEYE]

What difference if someone is killed in a wreak at 55 mph, 65 mph or 85 mph. I think no speed limit is better and everyone is responsible for the way they drive and whatever they cause to happen. Enforce reckless driving illegal parking! By the way, I find about 62 mph works for me just fine.

nothing wrong with that, my wifes speed is 65 which is close.
and yeah, they could do away with limits, and make the person who caused the wreck, pay for it.

[BUGEYE]

if you want to drive 85mph, move to Texas.  RELATIVE speed doesn't mean a thing on the interstate.

Absolutely false - relative speeds are very relevant to safety on the highways. Two cars or bikes running 90mph with appropriate separation are perfectly fine. If one is doing 90 and the other 50, there is much more to go wrong. Differences in speed are hugely significant.

Why the heck do you think they have minimum speed limits on highways?

I drive 15mph OVER the limit.
as for relative speed, the difference is, at 50mph I am more perceptive about what's coming than you are at 90mph.  there's no magic formula that says I'm gonna wreck you.  something like that might come into play with race cars at 200mph just inches apart.   so if that 40mph difference between you and me is gonna cause you to go flying off into the-wild-blue-yonder, maybe YOU better slow down.

[williamlayton]

BE
From my experience, you better have insurance because the other guy doesn't.
Blessings

[BUGEYE]

I've never seen the word hubris in the context of a discussion on traffic control.

he inferred that I was uneducated and he used that word to make people think he had a superior intellect.(The way I took it) The reason I deleted his posts.

[finisher]

My old cop mentor once told his son and I that he was all for this idea. We were shocked to hear him, " Mr. Dudley I drive 55 Do Right" say this... until he explained to us that in his experience on the freeways of LA (before it became a ten hour parking lot) he observed that people who drive 65 MPH eat food, put on make up, read maps, shave, fumble for stuff in their glove compartments, do lines, flirt with the opposite sex, and all sorts of other things OTHER THAN PAYING ATTENTION TO THEIR DRIVING.


But at 85+mph, you must definitely give FULL ATTENTION to your driving because there is little if any room for distraction beyond that speed.


I've always said that traffic "ACCIDENTS" rarely happen. But "TRAFFIC CARELESSNESS" and irresponsibility...well that sadly happens all too often.


As a concrete finisher and in my time in the service commuting from Coronado island to LA on the week ends, I  covered many high speed miles and put in many hours on those wonderfully curvy freeways (only curves I like more than female curves  [size=78%]) [/size]and I have to agree with my friends dad.

As far as LA traffic goes, some say that it is the amount of cars on the road, but I disagree saying that it is people's poor driving skills. The way I figure it, if a group of rednecks in NASCAR can drive at 180+ MPH for hours with only an occasional wreck why can't everyone else do it on the freeways at half that speed?

I confess that I used to love to speed, but I've been well trained. It doesn't make it legal but it sure made it a lot of fun playing cat and mouse with the CHP on those San Diego to LA and back drives that I used to pull off in about one hour and thirty minutes.

Honest, I was only really a danger to myself at those hours and I was an adrenaline junkie at that time in my life. But I was never one of these idiots that you'd see whipping in and out of traffic, cutting people off . It was all about smooth slide and glide not horse power. I used to refer to it as "surfing" through traffic. Since I moved to Medford though, the need to speed has all but left me as there is no rush to beat the crowds on and off the freeways and I can get from one end of the city to all the other neighboring cities (towns, more like it) in less than thirty minutes. And these "yocals" THINK they have traffic and complain .

If any of you have the means and opportunity, invest in a high speed defensive and evasive driving course. I was fortunate enough to get mine courtesy of the U.S. Navy and it has saved my life on a couple of occasions, particularly when I was driving at the flow of traffic and some one else wasn't paying attention. 

I really miss those high speed drives at 3:00 AM through Oceanside, Camp Pendelton, San Onofre , and the LA freeways though. It really was the last "vice" that I indulged. Life seems pretty boring now. Wonder if adrenaline withdrawal ever goes away.

[BUGEYE]

I haven't even mentioned speeding. I was merely discussing how inept bumblers like you endanger yourself and others by acting as rolling traffic obstructions. Please stop lying through your teeth.

I am a careful driver.  when I do have to pass a slower driver, I make sure that I don't cause someone to tap their brakes and turn off their cruise control.
when I do get behind someone slower, I don't fume and call them inept bumblers or consider them traffic obstructions.  they are usually older folks like myself who have as much right to drive the interstates as anyone else.  I can stop my truck in less time at 55 than I could at high speed. If I blow a tire, I'm less likely to lose control.
so take a chill pill, wave as you go by, and your blood-pressure will thank you.

[brettcar]

I'm reading our newspaper now about 2 cars that hit hogs & 1 pickup that hit a deer at 85+ mph. We forgot to warn the animals in this rural area about this. I'm going to try this, but it will be during the day. Also there are cameras that cover 75% of this road.

[BUGEYE]

I'm reading our newspaper now about 2 cars that hit hogs & 1 pickup that hit a deer at 85+ mph. We forgot to warn the animals in this rural area about this. I'm going to try this, but it will be during the day. Also there are cameras that cover 75% of this road.

back in the 90s my brother hit a big doe. he was driving about 40mph on a gravel road and it demolished the front of his truck.
if you hit one doing 85mph, somebody could be killed when it comes through the windshield.

[Bear Rider]

I am a careful driver.  when I do have to pass a slower driver, I make sure that I don't cause someone to tap their brakes and turn off their cruise control.

How about all those other legal drivers that you force to either pass you or bunch up behind you? If you are traveling 15 mph slower than the speed limit, cars close on you at 22 feet per second. That's more than one car length per second  If cars are traveling 600 feet (two football fields) apart, you are forcing someone to either pass you or slow down every thirty seconds. That's turbulence, which contributes to accidents.

[BUGEYE]

How about all those other legal drivers that you force to either pass you or bunch up behind you? If you are traveling 15 mph slower than the speed limit, cars close on you at 22 feet per second. That's more than one car length per second  If cars are traveling 600 feet (two football fields) apart, you are forcing someone to either pass you or slow down every thirty seconds. That's turbulence, which contributes to accidents.

when you spend as much time in airplanes as I have, you'll know what "turbulence" is.
turbulence on the interstate is a semi at a high rate of speed passing a toyota corrolla.
I guess your next post will say that corrollas should stay off the interstate.
people passing me don't create turbulence (semis excepted)  so maybe semis should take the backroads and quit endangering autos.  y'all have mentioned relative speed, how about relative SIZE... http://www.aronfeld.com/lawyer-attorney-1647430.html
it seems that when a semi is involved, the wreck is catastrophic!!
and, what makes you think I'm an "inept bumbler"?? does dope or something give you more insight??

[nw_hunter]

Enough you two! You both need to brush up on the rules for posting again, if you ever have.Keep it on topic without the temper tantrums.Road rage, and neither of you are on the road  

[BUGEYE]

Enough you two! You both need to brush up on the rules for posting again, if you ever have.Keep it on topic without the temper tantrums.Road rage, and neither of you are on the road

I've stayed calm, have called no names, and am willing to debate him until the cows come home, or until you lock it and spoil our fun.
I think he enjoys it as much as I do.

[Curtis]

I've stayed calm, have called no names, and am willing to debate him until the cows come home, or until you lock it and spoil our fun.
I think he enjoys it as much as I do.

At least THIS time you haven't called anyone a jackass.
 
Curtis

[BUGEYE]

I've stayed calm, have called no names, and am willing to debate him until the cows come home, or until you lock it and spoil our fun.
I think he enjoys it as much as I do.

At least THIS time you haven't called anyone a jackass.
 
Curtis

I knew that nw_hunter was watching me.
LET'S MAKE OUR HIGHWAYS SAFER.  MAKE SEMIS TAKE THE BACK ROADS.

[Larry L]

I guess I can say I come from a family of drivers. When I was a teenager mom drove a GTO, 389 with 3 dueces, headers, and a 4 speed. Unless you had something special, you weren't going to catch her. Dad drove a hot rod sleeper 60 Chevy station wagon, a Brookwood which was the cheapest they sold. It had a small block with a blower on it. I drove a 34 coupe with a Corvette mill that had tons of work in it. Turned in the 11's in the quarter mile. Cousin owned a speed shop and the whole family raced cars. I had a 69 Charger RT that I would occasionally drive to the coast to chase the girls. Couldn't make the 150 miles on one tank going at 140mph was the biggest issue. You have to pick and chose where and when you drive fast. My father in law was also into cars. I remember asking him one trip to the coast as we were running around 120mph "Hey Rosco, what's gonna happen if we have a flat" I said. He replied " Don't worry about it, I got a spare in the trunk ain't never been on the ground". WE also, being car folks, are extremely particular about our tires and condition of the vehicle. I have several here that 100 mph is nothing. But I wouldn't even consider it in my Bronco.
Now with all that outa the way. They've had 3 wrecks on the new hiway. All at night and all single car wrecks with.....feral hogs. Seems the hogs like to run fast too, just not fast enough.

[BUGEYE]

Larry L, good post, I'm from the late 50s, early 60s and loved those muscle cars.
I have no problem with fast cars, in fact I love all forms of racing and would love to ride in a nascar cup-car just once.
I'm glad you posted.

[Curtis]

LET'S MAKE OUR HIGHWAYS SAFER.  MAKE SEMIS TAKE THE BACK ROADS.

Naa, take it a step further.  All overland shipping should go by rail.  Local trucking only on back roads.  Now, on the Interstate Highway ..............if you're going faster than me you're too fast and if you're going slower than me you're too slow.      That simplifies things!
 
Curtis

[BUGEYE]

LET'S MAKE OUR HIGHWAYS SAFER.  MAKE SEMIS TAKE THE BACK ROADS.

Naa, take it a step further.  All overland shipping should go by rail.  Local trucking only on back roads.  Now, on the Interstate Highway ..............if you're going faster than me you're too fast and if you're going slower than me you're too slow.      That simplifies things!
 
Curtis

the other day I was sitting at a RR crossing, waiting on a looooong train and every car had two semi trailers on it.  so your rail idea has merit.

[FPH]

My B-I-L says to be mindful of feral hogs at night on 130......there have been several accidents involving them. Fortunately, no fatalities.

[gypsyman]

To those that like the speed, good luck. Might get a different opinion when you have to be a pallbarer at a 17/18 year olds funeral. gypsyman