A proposal to raise the speed limit to 80 mph on Interstates 10 and 20 in West Texas, which appears on its way to approval, has met with mixed reactions.
The item is on the Texas Transportation Commission's agenda for May 26, and could go into effect immediately after that, said Ted Houghton, an El Paso businessman who is on the commission.
A proposal to raise the speed limit to 80 mph on Interstates 10 and 20 in West Texas, which appears on its way to approval, has met with mixed reactions.
The item is on the Texas Transportation Commission's agenda for May 26, and could go into effect immediately after that, said Ted Houghton, an El Paso businessman who is on the commission.
"This is not an edict from us. Ten West Texas counties have asked for it," he said. "It's wide-open space, and there's not a lot of traffic out there. It will probably go into effect immediately after the commission meeting."
State Rep. Joe Pickett, D-El Paso, said that he planned on proposing it at the next Legislature, but that the Texas Department of Transportation beat him to it. He and Houghton said they support raising the speed limit.
"I'm for it," Pickett said. "If anyone has driven between here and San Antonio, they know that the road is in good shape and can handle the traffic safely. Vehicles today are also safer than they were when we had the 55-mph limit. People are already doing 75 to 80 mph."
Blanca Del Valle, spokeswoman for Texas Transportation Department in El Paso, said, "We have the signs ready to go. The speed
limit for the trucks would stay at 70 mph."
Officials said that the new speed limit would not apply to the El Paso limits, and that motorists who exceed the limits anywhere will be cited.
Richard Retting, senior transportation engineer for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a research organization in Arlington, Va., said the public needs to understand that higher speed limits come with a price.
"It's a law of physics. With higher speeds, research shows that we are going to have more accidents," he said.
El Pasoan Frank Carrasco, a print-copy shop manager, believes raising the speed limit is not a good idea. "Drivers out there are bad enough. They are going to drive 10 to 15 miles an hour faster than the speed limit."
El Paso Times
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I applaud Texas for considering raising the speed limit to 80 mph on certain stretches of highway ("Texas could accelerate to 80 mph," News, Wednesday).
Apparently its transportation department officials did research and determined that 80 mph is appropriate for those sections of highway and, in fact, that 85% of drivers on those roads drive as if the speed limit were already 80 mph.
A criticism by some is that posting an 80 mph speed limit would result in most drivers going above 80 mph. While it may be true in the short term, the logic behind that prediction is flawed.
For many years, speed limits have been set artificially low. The majority of drivers clearly recognize this fact and drive at more appropriate, higher speeds. They take their chances and some are penalized by law enforcement. Other states would be well advised to take notice of what Texas is considering and set realistic speed limits, too.
Posting artificially low speed limits and then randomly enforcing them causes serious problems, including:
• Hindering the efficient flow of traffic.
• Increasing, not decreasing, the likelihood of accidents as a result of the speed differential between people driving realistic speeds vs. those who drive at the artificially low speed limits because they fear getting tickets.
• Making many otherwise law-abiding citizens criminals because they're compelled to break the law by speeding.
I encourage vigorous enforcement of these more realistic speed limits so drivers would be discouraged from driving an extra 5 mph or more over the new limit, as many do now.
As for the fuel economy argument, the last I heard, we still have some freedoms here. We are still allowed to waste fuel if we want to - or need to - because we have to get somewhere as quickly as the law and common sense will permit.
If big SUVs or high-powered sports cars use too much gas, their drivers already pay a big penalty at the pumps.
Yes, driving more quickly will use more gas, but that should be our decision, and if we want to save fuel there are other options. For example, I drive a hybrid Toyota Prius most of the time.
Speed limits are finally starting to inch their way back to reality. We should think long and hard before we sit back and watch while certain of our well-meaning but misguided government officials try to legislate that freedom away.
Jan Wagner, San Diego
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