Hot Dog only in Texas

gurneyeagle

Before everyone goes into cardiac arrest worrying about the population of Texas going extinct from an 85 mph speed limit, keep a few things in mind:

1. where most limits are above 70 mph, the traffic is not very dense;
2. there is no real correlation between an increase in posted speeds and an increase in traffic accidents;
3. when speed is an issue, it's the disparity in the speed of the subject vehicle relative to surrounding traffic.

Freeway speed limits are set at 60 mph in metro Houston and other large TX metropolitan areas. As you move away from those areas, the speed limit increases progressively. In the case of Houston - San Antonio for example, it eventually rises to 75 mph.

I don't know how many of you guys drove (or were even alive) during the days of the "double nickel", but it was a nightmare. It was actually MORE dangerous due to the aforementioned difference in the speeds driven.

When radar detectors first came out; e.g. the "Fuzzbuster", you basically had a free pass before the cops countered with instant on radar. From there it was a technology race between speeders and the authorities.

You are just as likely to get taken out by a P.O.S. 1984 Dodge Caravan at 65 mph as you are at 85 mph.

I'll gladly take my chances on a brand new toll road at 85 mph versus I-610 in Houston at 60 mph with some of the kamikazzee lane (un) discipline I've witnessed in the 14 months I've lived in Houston. I doubt if it's much different on the East and West Coast. I've driven on both I-95 and I-5, and never felt any safer.

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