75 MPH Speed Limit Passes: Ladies and Gentlemen, Start Your Engines

By Richard Connelly Mon., May 23 2011 at 4:31 PM

The Texas Senate has sent to the governor's desk a bill allowing 75 mph speed limits in semi-deserted parts of Texas. Assuming that the Tea Party is not against, Rick Perry is expected to sign it.

So get ready to put the pedal to the metal, Texas, and try to imagine what it must have been like in the benighted days of the Gerald Ford administration, when you were expected to travel through the desert expanse of West Texas on I-20 or I-10 at no more than 55 mph. The only good thing that came out of that was a Sammy Hagar song.

The bill allows the Texas Transportation Commission to set 75 mph limits on major highways outside of urban areas, and eliminates the difference between night and day speed limits.

Currently, you can't go faster than 70 mph in Texas, except for some very limited stretches of No Man's Land where you can hit 80 mph and still think you're going nowhere.

Now, if the speed limit's 75 mph, most people are going to go at least 80. So 80 mph will be the starting point for the inevitable rise that comes from not paying attention. How many people are going to look down in their Escalade and suddenly notice they're going 100?

Not to mention their gas gauge will be dropping almost in direct proportion to their speedometer needle rising.

But who cares? 75 mph, people!!!

Tags:

Speed limits

We Recommend

RickPerry3

We need to save fuel in the US and Texas, so the faster we go, the faster we get there, with less fuel used. Pretty simple, Rich.

seenmuch

The tally so far this year is VA & OH just went 70 mph recently , TX, KS & LA are now 75 mph , ME & OR considering 75 mph this spring . Hopefully that list will lengthen over the rest of the year .

Duke Ganote

"...most people are going to go at least 80". Malarky, if South Dakota is any indication! They've had 75-mph limits since 1996, and the average speed is still less than the posted speed limit. http://www.sddot.com/pe/data/D...

Mike N.

Indeed everything I have read indicate that people tend to drive the speed they are comfortable with for that particular stretch of road notwithstanding the posted speed limits. Personally, I always felt comfortable driving around 70-75 on rural interstates, and that hasn't changed since the speed limit has gone from 55 to 70. It has only meant that I haven't gotten a speeding ticket in a long time.