Buy TicketsYour Home
More
ChannelsBuy TicketsYour Home
USE THIS ONE-cbs-11 RED-tx3-21 krld_feature-logo the-fan_feature-logo
Tornado Kills At Least 91 - 20 Children - In Moore, Oklahoma Read More
DFW Severe Weather | Alerts | Latest Radar | Another Round Tuesday?

Local

State Lawmakers Debate Raising Speed Limit To 85 MPH

April 7, 2011 12:03 PM
View Comments
Evening rush hour traffic. (credit: David McNew/Getty Images)

Evening rush hour traffic. (credit: David McNew/Getty Images)

Filed under
Local, News, Politics
Related tags
, ,

FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) – Driving 85 miles an hour could soon be a legal reality on some Texas highways. The state house has passed a bill that would give the Department of Transportation power to raise the speed limit.

The action could only be taken after engineering tests and traffic studies were done, but Jerry Johns, with the Insurance Institute, doesn’t like the idea. “The higher the speed limit the more accidents there are, the more injuries, more deaths there are,” he said. “This is just going to have the potential to raise the injury and the death rate on those roads where they’re gonna allow an 85 mile an hour speed limit.”

Garry Biller, with the National Motorist Association, says if people are driving 85 now then the speed is safe. “Studies by traffic engineers have shown that that [85 mph] is the, believe it or not, the safest speed to be traveling on a given stretch of road.”

The bill also gives the option of raising the speed limit to 85 mph in designated lanes on a highway that has a lower posted speed limit.

A similar bill is up for a vote in the Senate. If it passes, Texas would have the highest speed limit in the nation.

View Comments
  • Rick McDaniel

    There are absolutely NO roads in TX that would be safe to drive, at 85 MPH. None!

  • http://fortworthinsight.com/news/state-lawmakers-debate-raising-speed-limit-to-85-mph/ State Lawmakers Debate Raising Speed Limit To 85 MPH « Fort Worth News Feeds

    [...] State Lawmakers Debate Raising Speed Limit To 85 MPH Driving 85 miles an hour could soon be a legal reality on some Texas highways. The state house has passed a bill that would give the Department of Transportation power to raise the speed limit. Go to News Source [...]

  • j. K.

    And those who choose to ignore speed limits will feel free to drive at 90 or above.

  • Freddie Romero

    The national speed limit should be 60 mph so that we can reduce the amount of oil we import from other countries. People are quick to complain about the price of gasoline and yet they continue to drive way above the posted speed limit…

    • Matt

      Vehicle speed does not affect mpg’s as much as acceleration does. In fact the optimal speed for most cars is above 60 for the best mpg

  • Darlene Welch

    Drivers travelling long distances really need to move faster.There will always be crashes, regardless of the speed limit. Vehicles in the fast lane are already at or above 85. The slower drivers stay on the right. Most drivers are cooperative, safe and happy on the open highway. I would appreciate getting to my destination sooner on my long road trips.

  • TymT

    Well, since auto exhaust is a now distant, fading concern here in Gasland, I say let’s go for it.

    Rick, get a better car for cryin’ out loud. On the other hand, if you already have a decent one, it’s probably just you.

  • Grady

    This ideal of driving 85 mph in TEXAS is “DUMMER THAN A DIRTY DIAPER”!

  • billy

    I drive 85 mph ALREADY……..cause I can’t drive 65…………..SEE YA!!!!!!!!!!!!! LEAD…FOLLOW… OR PARK IT IN YOUR BACKYARD………build a fence around it and CALL IT HOME!!!!!!!!!!!

  • jake34

    OK, once again our Texas lawmakers show their stupidity. The state economy is in the toilet so let’s hire traffic studies and engineering tests.

    Do these morons not have anything else to do than to vote on unimportant issues?

  • billy

    At least SOMEONE, friend or relative of ricky “bobby” perry WILL HAVE A J-O-B!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • robin carlisle

    @ Billy: you admitted to exactly what I was thinking. Idiots like you that already drive 85mph would then drive 100mph. Just what we need in an already hostile environment on the highways. Now, just ad some texting and talking on a cell phone to go with that and we have a recipe for real disaster.

  • billy

    Sorry robin…………..I am a white man!!!!!!!!!!! WITHOUT A CELL PHONE!!!!!!!!

  • robin

    Well, thank God for that. For no cell phone…. not that you’re white.

  • James Deangelis

    I drive 55 even when the speed limit is 65. It saves on Gas and I get there safely!

blog comments powered by Disqus
Listen Live!

Larry Mowry's Late Night Weather ForecastLarry Mowry's Late Night Weather...
More Videos
 

Latest Galleries

 

Latest DFW News

Summer Guide

Now Hiring

Pump Patrol

Circulars