Yup. Its actually a shorter drive from Texarkana TX to Chicago IL, than it is from Texarkana TX to El Paso TX :tup:

Hopefully this will be in affect in 2 months when I drive to Dallas in 2 months for QuakeCon =)

Thats crazy! If you are caught going 85+ in Georgia you are automatically given a Super Speeder ticket... I guess everything is bigger in Texas :rolleyes:

FYI it takes me a half hour to drive from east to west and about 45 minutes and you have crossed the state from north to south. Speed limit is 65 but this state and Florida are in competition for the oldest population.

PS do any of the cities of Texas have underground subways like Boston, Washington or New York?

Only 8 hrs? It takes me two days to drive from Cornwall, Ontario to Thunder Bay, Ontario.:driving:

In Virginia anything over 80 mph is reckless. There are some areas where the speed limit is 75. Damn we drive so close to the edge! :bowrofl:

While I'm all for higher limits (and I'm gonna go over whatever limits there are), there is a certain logic to the correlation between speed and fatality rate per accident.

Most impacts don't happen at full speed, you usually get a little braking in at the "oh ****" moment. Braking distance (and reaction distance) to reach a certain target speed goes up exponentially with increases in initial cruising speed. That's how even a small difference in top-end cruising speed results in a more dramatic difference in the slower impact speed, which makes a large difference in accident lethality.

That being said though, I don't think it should be focused on. The speed limit is a relatively minor factor in the end. The big factors in highway fatality rates, IMHO, are all related to human error and car negligence. Better driver training and more police action to get unmaintained clearly-unsafe vehicles off the highway would be a better use of resources than worrying about speed limits. Stop inspecting every year for exhaust fumes and start inspecting every 6 months for brake/tire maintenance, that'd be a great start.

6 month inspections are too much of a burden. Once a year is fine. In VA everything gets checked annually. If your pads are too low or rotors are to worn you have to fix it before you get your safety sticker.

I agree, though, that it's a big driver problem. People need to maintain safe distances at speed and there needs to be a reduction in driver aggression. I see too many weaving in and out of traffic at speed on the highway all the time.

I'm sure if all the slow ***** would learn to drive in the far right lane this would mitigate a lot of the weaving. :icon17:

Not that i can think of. What are they?............lol just kidding

i totally agree well put. get the heaps of the street. i know people going 80-85 on what are nothing less that slicks.

Well, 18 wheeler travel at that speed all the time on any part of the country. They are the #1 cause of accidents/incidents in the interstates and highways.

Yeap, that is the Republic of Virginia and no Radar Detector.

you get to drive 100mph with $100 for 4 tires crowd. yay!

Even a yearly check on brakes/tires/etc would be a help. I don't know how it is in the other states in general, but at least here in TX the annual state inspection has devolved into being purely about emissions. I remember they used to actually check other things, even little stuff like headlight alignment. These days you just drive up and they plug into OBD-II and check that you're meeting the emissions guidelines, take your money, and slap on a sticker. They could care less about your bald tires, cracked rotors, and non-existant brake pads.

In VA we have an annual safety inspection where they check everything. Brakes, suspension, windows, horn, lights, tires, etc. They also do a spot check for emissions.

Every 2 years we have to have an emissions test.

Most of the cars here are in roadworthy shape due to the inspection. However once you cross into MD (no inspection) there are cars driving around that shouldn't be allowed to leave the junk yard lot.

Ugh, that's a good point too. I know we have speed rating standards, but are they enforced? Are those $100 special tires only designed and rated for like 70mph? Is there a federal standard that sets a minimum tire speed rating a shop can install on a road-legal car?