85 mph highway opens in Texas

Wednesday marked the opening of the new 85 mph speed limit on Texas State Highway 130, where a 40-mile section of the highway — a toll road — between San Antonio and Austin is now home to the country’s highest speed limit.

The stretch of highway is privately managed, and the 85 mph speed limit has been in the works for some time. As Overdrive reported in June, Texas Department of Transportation officials told the media they were performing studies to test the feasibility  of an 85 mph speed limit for SH 130.

A law passed in 2011 allowed speed limits of up to 85 mph, but this is the first to go so far. Others in the state have posted 75 mph speed limits, and in March, a stretch of 130 between Georgetown and Mustang Ridge and SH 45SE from Mustang Ridge to I-35 in South Travis County became the first to post 80 mph limits.

Is is safe or is that too fast?

Speed and Space Management

 

The Speed and Space Management video shows you the importance of maintain a safe operating speed and safe space cushions on all side of your truck and trailer.  There are helpful tips on how to maintain those safe buffer zones and what to so in case weather and road conditions deteriorate.

Before you understand how to manage truck speed and the space around your truck, you first need to recognize why it’s important to do so.

· Speed can be costly

· Drivers experience pressure to save time, but pushing speed can actually cause drivers to lose time.

· A driver may be ticketed because he or she did not have enough time to slow down or stop or because he or she was simply going too fast for conditions.

· Speeding can result in serious delays, but it can also result in never finishing your run.

· Operating costs increase, too.  Driving 70mph instead of 50 mph can increase operating costs by as much as 70 to 80%

· The more you speed, the less time you have to react to what’s going on around you.

· Speeding puts your personal safety, your job and your life in jeopardy.

· Don’t be tailgater!!!!!

Perception distance… is the distance you travel from the time a hazard appears in front of you until your brain registers it. (For most of us, that takes about ¾ of a second which is 60 feet at 55 mph)

Reaction distance….is the time it takes for you to apply the brakes.  For most of us this is another 60 feet.

Braking distance….is the time it takes to come to a stop.  In a 50-60 foot truck at 55 mph this could take another 4/8 seconds.  The total stopping time is more than 6 seconds and stopping distance at 55 mph is more than 500 feet.

Drinking and driving

We’ve all heard it time and time again, don’t drink and drive. It's a simple concept. If you drink alcohol, call a cab. It’s really not rocket science. But too many times someone will think of some completely illogical reason they need to get behind the wheel after they’ve had a few. Some excuses I’ve heard:

1.       It’s not that far, I can definitely make it.

2.       I have no cash for a cab.

3.       I need my car first thing in the morning, so I can’t take a cab.

4.       I’ll just drive really slow.

5.       I only had a few, I’m 95% sober.

6.       It won’t happen to me, I’ll be fine.

7.       There are not even any cops out tonight/on the side of town/looking at me.

8.      My car will be towed if I leave it overnight.

And the excuses go on and on. It seems that constantly there are stories in the news about a drunk driver that killed someone, destroyed public property, caused never ending traffic backups, and even killed themselves. But for some reason, certain people drink and drive. Even worse are those who actually plan to drink and drive! They go to the bars and try to keep their drinking to a "reasonable" limit and then drive home. It’s insane and completely irresponsible.

I get it. You think you’re invincible or just super special and nothing bad will ever happen to you. Well give it time, it’ll be you eventually.  The only system that I have found that works is planning on not having a car to begin with. If you take a cab there, then the problem is always solved. You have to figure out a way to get the cash for the cab, you’ll have your car in the morning, you won’t have to try to monitor your alcohol intake and you will NEVER get a dui. Granted, you’re still not safe... although you’re in a cab, the jerk next to you thinks he’s invincible and just got in his car…

Spread the word. Plan ahead – Take a cab – Don’t drink and drive.

Click here for more reasons not to drink and drive.

Some Interstate Speed Limits May Increase

If you've ever driven on the interstate anywhere, you see huge semi-trucks. They are very large and most drivers have a hard time seeing around them. Personally, I don’t like to drive next to them at all and I will most certainly panic if I find myself in the center lane sandwiched between two of them. It’s not that I believe that truck drivers are poor drivers, I would just feel nervous in such a small car when compared to a 18-wheeler. I more than understand the importance of shipping freight all over the country and realize that these drivers have a very important job. But on the other hand, is it safe for anyone is they are zooming by other cars going 70 or 80 miles an hour?

Although I’ve never personally drive a vehicle that large, I can imagine it would be rather difficult to control a truck at higher speeds. Well, legislature in two Ohio counties feel they should increase the speed limit on I75 in Butler and Warren counties. They want to increase it to 70 mph from 65 mph. To me, this raises some safety questions. And even if semi-truck drivers agree with me and maintain their 65 mph speed, or if they have a truck that actually prevents them from driving faster, the other vehicles on the road will now most likely push the speed limit even more and travel 75 mph or even 80 mph. I think this is just a bad idea for everyone on the road. The article I read said accidents on Interstate 75 in Butler and Warren counties dropped from 1,052 in 2009 to 880 in 2010. Things are looking better! Why would someone want to risk the numbers jumping back up?? 65 mph is plenty fast to get where you’re trying to go while maintaining an certain amount of safety.

Read the full article here.