Bill to allow 80 mph speed limits (Kansas City, Topeka: live, prices, law)

[Mattks]

What do you guys think of this? They increased to 75 in 2011 and I thought that was overdue, but what about 80? Most traffic already does 80-85, but will this cause most traffic to go 85-90? I have mixed feelings on increasing the speed limit, I think 75 is probably fine. When driving from Topeka to Hays or Topeka to McPherson I normally set the cruise at 82 or so and most traffic seems to go that speed.

http://www.kansascity.com/news/gover...e60714926.html

[KaaBoom]

Originally Posted by Mattks

What do you guys think of this? They increased to 75 in 2011 and I thought that was overdue, but what about 80? Most traffic already does 80-85, but will this cause most traffic to go 85-90? I have mixed feelings on increasing the speed limit, I think 75 is probably fine. When driving from Topeka to Hays or Topeka to McPherson I normally set the cruise at 82 or so and most traffic seems to go that speed.

Pedal to the metal: Should Kansas allow 80 mph speed limits? | The Kansas City Star

Hey congratulations, your speed limit will finally be back to where it was in the 1950s, when cars didn’t have airbags or seat belts.

[Mattks]

Could cars actually go 80 in the 1950s?

[Mathguy]

I'm not that concerned about this.

The vast majority of driving issues I've seen over the last 5 years have involved someone on a cell phone or tablet device including the young girl that crossed the centerline near me the other day while filiming something with her phone out the window of her moving car.

If people aren't comfortable going 80-85 etc. then they can poke along in the slow lane. <shrug>

[SPonteKC]

Originally Posted by Mathguy

If people aren't comfortable going 80-85 etc. then they can poke along in the slow lane. <shrug>

It's the midwest, everyone drives in the left lane all the time for no conceivable reason.

[Rivertowntalk]

Originally Posted by Mattks

What do you guys think of this? They increased to 75 in 2011 and I thought that was overdue, but what about 80? Most traffic already does 80-85, but will this cause most traffic to go 85-90? I have mixed feelings on increasing the speed limit, I think 75 is probably fine. When driving from Topeka to Hays or Topeka to McPherson I normally set the cruise at 82 or so and most traffic seems to go that speed.

Pedal to the metal: Should Kansas allow 80 mph speed limits? | The Kansas City Star

I agree. They will push 85-90 and with semis mixed in and heavy traffic, it is a recipe for problems, particularly with the texting going on. There will be people who will set the cruise on 89 and then weave from the far left lane to the far right lane trying to get around slower vehicles.

[CrownVic95]

With these toy, tin can cars most people drive today, I think 70 is plenty and I would have left it there. The greater the speed increase beyond that, the greater the disproportionate ratio of risk to the small, theoretical time savings.

[Mtn. States Resident]

Having lived in both the first and second states to change to 80, I know a lot more than I did five or six years ago.

The greatest dangers: 1. Slow drivers in the passing lanes who aren't driving at least the minimum speed, 2. Distracted drivers. No, cell phones, texting, combing one's hair or feeding the dog are not OK at 80 or any speed. The only fatal accidents on 80 mph interstates I'm aware of ( I do look every year) always has had one or both of those factors, and sometimes a chemically impaired/drunk driver. Speed excessive of weather conditions has also been a factor.

But the 80 mph alone has never been the single cause for even one fatality.

What do I personally not like about 80mph? Roads with slower speed limits. It takes me a while to get use to the lower speed limits. It can be a little more complex if you get lots of visitors from other states that don't have 80 mph. They tend to go slower and won't always move to the slower lanes.

Good luck, I hope KS gets it passed. The states that have it are expanding 80 mph to more interstates. You'll enjoy it.

MSR

[MoNative34]

I see no reason it shouldn't be 80.

[WyoNewk]

I live near a section of I-90 in Wyoming where the speed limit was raised from 75 to 80 a couple years ago, and I travel it a lot both directions. The legislature passed the law with the intent of having more vehicles on the road traveling at the same speed, rather than having individual speeds ranging between 75 and 80. To make that work, they increased the speeding ticket prices substantially on the portions of the highway with the 80 mph limit. I think it's to the point that getting ticketed for 85 mph will cost you more on an 80-mph-section than on a 75-mph-section! They also encouraged the WHP to be strict with speeding in the 80-mph-sections.

I wasn't really in favor of the change, because I figured 75 mph is fast enough and the higher speed would cause more/more severe accidents. After a couple years of driving them, I'd have to say the legislature's goals were met.

My goal in setting my speed is usually to blend with the traffic, too. When the speed limit was 75, I'd to set the cruise at 78 mph. I'd pass a few and be passed by a few. Now I set it at 80. I drove 58 miles west the other morning before turning off I-90. I'd passed one vehicle and been passed by one. Traffic was light, but most people are driving RIGHT AT 80 mph.