It seems the Lone Star state beat the rest of us to the stage of true enlightenment. They decided that modern vehicles are capable of being safely operated at speeds of 80 MPH!!!

How many of you remember the days when we (or our parents) drove two ton American cars with 3 or 4 hundred horsepower on the American Interstate system at the legal speeds of 75, 80, or even higher. All without seat belts, air bags, and crumple zones. Plus the old cars had plenty of hard, sharp pointy surfaces on the interior to impale you. And let's not forget bias ply tires and drum brakes! I'm glad to see after 40 or 50 years of advancement, one state thinks we can go 80 mph again.

Of course, this isn't good for gas mileage. Which was the only reason I just sort of shrugged at the absurdity of the 55 and 65 MPH limit.

 

I vote for SF08 in Texas!

 

I don't know. 80 miles per hour is enticing but there is so much congestion on the roads in the Northeast, and so few of the drivers actually know how to drive, that I think 80 mph around here would just be asking for trouble. That I think is the sad reality of driving in the Northeast.

 

I live in Texas and this is the first I've heard of an 80 mph speed limit. Where is this supposed to happen. Although I rarely drive under 80 on the freeways now.

At 80 you can cruise all day and still be a long ways from the Texas border, not like some of those sissy NE states that aren't even as large as DFW.

 

If I say what I'm thinking it'll only get this thread moved to the Politics forum, so I won't. All I'll say is that as far as Texas goes, I agree with the Dixie Chicks.

 

Next step, no speed limit in Texas. If Germans could do it, why not us?

 

When I lived on the ranch in Montana. No speed limit. Just reasonable and prudent was the law. Wonder if Montana went back to it?

It takes FOREVER to drive across Texas.


fltsfshr

 

I think Montana is now like that Texas sign...80 day, 65 nite.

 

Maybe the local press doesn't think it is news. You have to find a nice Northeastern paper to get the story. Try this:

http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB115...ff_main_tff_top

 

No doubt, there is great congestion in the Northeast, but there are still large rural areas where I drive at 80 mph, along with most of the folks in the passing lane. Then we all slam on the brakes when we see a cop. Why not change the sign to match the behavior? I know some will say "If you make it legal to go 80, then everyone will go 90 or 100!" I don't buy that, but the saftey folks love to say it.