Texas Department of Transportation officials are testing out a stretch of road between Austin and Seguin to see if raising the speed limit to 85 mph is feasible.
We all know people have a tendency to drive faster than the posted speed limit. This is particularly true on the highway between towns. But what are the safety risks you take when you push the limit like this?
Russ Rader of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety in Arlington, Virginia, says raising the speed limit will only result in more deaths.
“Research clearly demonstrates the direct connection between higher speed limits and more fatalities,” he said in speaking with the Houston Chronicle. “When speed limits go up, deaths on those roads go up. When speed limits go down, deaths on those roads go down.”
According to a study in the American Journal of Public Health, “12,545 deaths nationwide were attributed to increases in speed limits across the country between 1995, when the national speed limit was repealed, and 2005.”
According to Chron.com:
The study also found that higher speed limits resulted in 9 percent more fatalities on rural interstates over the same 10-year span.
Utah’s 80-mph limit is being tested along four remote stretches of Interstate 15 that total 91 miles, according to Robert Hull, director of Traffic and Safety for the Utah Department of Transportation. Analysis of the first three years of test data is expected to be ready at the end of August, Hull said.
Released in March, the report notes that speeding continues to be a factor in about one-third of traffic deaths, despite progress in nearly every other aspect of highway safety.
It’s unclear when the 85-mph speed limit on the stretch between Austin and Seguin would go into effect if approved by the Texas Transportation Commission.
In separate bills last year, the Texas Legislature approved changing the speed limit to 75 mph on certain approved roads and to 80 mph or 85 mph on other roads designed to accommodate higher speeds, according to TxDot.
Texas now has about 3,200 miles of roadway with a 75-mph speed limit, representing about 4 percent of the state’s 80,000 highway miles, said Penny Mason of TxDot.
The state’s 575 miles of roads with an 80-mph speed limit account for less than 1 percent of Texas roadways, Mason said.
On other Texas highways, the speed limit is 70 mph, unless otherwise posted.
Accident Attorney Kevin Krist
Whether you are traveling the posted 75 mph speed limit or doing 35 mph in town, there is always the risk of an accident. Your driving behaviors can’t always save you. An unsafe driver can change your life in a matter of seconds.
If you’ve been injured in a serious Houston car accident and it wasn’t your fault, you could be left with mounting medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering. Kevin Krist has represented numerous accident victims in the Houston area, helping them to get compensation for their damages. Call (713) 284-1660 today, or contact us online, to discuss your case with a local attorney and to see how he might be able to help.
