PCA Forums

I like the idea - should be national or at min.in areas that are long and desolate.

I think that if they are going to allow cars to go that fast then they should also implement DOT safety checks. once a year the car has to go to a special place (not an average mechanic shop) that can not have a cheated inspection. Hell combine it with a emissions check. This way you wont have cars going that fast that are broken. Also allow cops to pull over cars for DOT safety violations.

Although I've driven that fast on highways at times, I think it's a bad idea to set a speed limit that high. 75 mph on open highways is fine, like in AZ and other states and most people still go 5-10 mph over that anyway.
You'll never get older people or those with slower POS cars to go that fast nor is that wise. With those cars going slower, they then become a problem for the faster traffic.
As Pugsley states, w/o safety inspections making sure those cars are safe on the roads, there's yet a major issue. In my state, there are no such inspections and there are many accidents on highways now due to those unsafe vehicles breaking down, suspension and tire related failures.
Then too, fuel economy goes way down at those speeds and in a time when (we're told) there's a gas shortage with prices climbing by the day.

i would expect to see a lot more tires blowing out with the higher speeds...so many people riding on bald tires, etc that can't handle it.

I also think its a bad idea since your stopping distance is a lot longer than at 65. I can see it now...guys going 90 and only 20 feet or less from the guy in front of him.

I think it's a terrible idea. An 85 MPH speed limit means that the ACTUAL average speed will be closer to 95 MPH.

Any highway engineer will tell you that most highways are not designed for those speeds. Even worse, most cars on the road are not safe to drive at that speed. People are careless with tire pressures, brakes and other safety systems.

People also don't allow enough following distance.

Speed limit here on a GOOD STRAIGHT HIGHWAY like the Florida Turnpike or I75 is 75 MPH and I think that's more than fast enough since in the real world that means most people are going 85 in the left lane and no Florida state trooper is going to ticket you for 10 MPH over the limit as long as you aren't driving recklessly (like swerving back and forth between lanes).

The kid in me is kind of excited about this idea.

But the responsible adult in me is setting off red alerts and fire alarms like no tomorrow.

I don't do much traveling. The only highways I spend any amount of significant time on are Highway 84 to get to work every day, and Interstate 27 to get to Amarillo and back. The speed limits for both of these highways is 70, and most people can't even control their cars then.

I'm not saying that I could control my vehicle at 85 MPH. I don't know if I'd want to try. But in my mind, I can be the best driver in the world, but thus far it's been everyone else you have to worry about. Been in a lot of near misses, and I know those will go up if this passes.

The idiots will pass it. Then pray the fools at TxDOT will implement it right. (Not a chance in hell)

No asher this won't affect your ride between Slaton and Lubbock but it will be for the long empty stretches where you can travel more than 100 miles without seeing a building much less a town. And there are ALOT of those area's.

As far as Highways being designed for it. The newer ones in our area could handle it without an issue. Honestly I blase 75-80 mph down Marsha Sharp Freeway almost everyday on my bike and in the truck.

I was once following an El Camino in Montana (in '75, going over 90 mph) when he had a front tire blow out. He was lucky to keep it on the road but it looked ugly for a few minutes and we were amazed that he didn't loose it. I doubt most people would be that lucky. His tire was probably bad in the first place or he hit something.

Another time more recently I was getting off at an exit ramp and saw a ricer Honda in my rear view mirror coming up very fast, then suddenly spun out, sliding sideways right towards me. I slammed on the brakes and he flew in front of me spinning, over curbs and into some bushes in a ditch. I got out to see if he was alright, (a "kid" and somewhat shaken) and let him use my cell phone to call someone for help. He said "I knew I should have replaced that tire" as a front tire blew out, causing his uncontrolled spin out and I could have easily been t-boned if my reaction time was worse by seconds.

At times I might go that fast still but I always drive on good tires, properly inflated and I know that my suspensions are also good. Most people on the roads have no clue how good/bad their cars are unless a tech, shop tells them and even then, many still don't fix them due to lack of $$$.

I think they should just do the DOT inspections any way. Too many hunks of crap around here that should not be on the road. I know that towards the ends of its life the wagon would have failed, but up until that point I took good care of it. And I would not have been all bent out of shape if it failed. But I see so many cars going down the highway with broken lower wishbones on 3 point suspensions. They need to make the old cars safer and get the ones that have been wrecked 3 times off the highway. I see so many cars that have been hit and are "crabbing" down the highway.

The reasons why many states like this one don't do that is because of $$$. The state would have to spend a lot of $$ to set it up and legally define people who are qualified to inspect the cars. As it is, like many other states ours is having major financial problems and cutting various programs. Here, they've already stopped the old type emissions testing due to funds and all they test now is '96 on up cars with OBD2, they just scan for codes. Non of my cars have to go anymore.