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I-10 from Arizona to the top of the hill outside Las Cruces, with 75mph exceptions for Lordsburg and Deming (not 65, you parasites) would be my second choice.
Yeah, I'm most familiar with this long, flat stretch where I could see people cruising 80mph no problemo.
The advantage to an engineering study is that once a study determines that a speed limit is appropriate, it is almost impossible to lower the speed limit in the future. Engineering studies make higher speed limits more permanent.
We're not going to get higher speed limits if we require an engineering study for every corridor. Seeking permission rather than forgiveness is going to give us maybe 1 or 2 80mph corridors every 5 years.
Given that I'd like to drive across the state at 80mph within my lifetime, a simple statewide mandate (like when they upped everything 55 to 65, or most 65 to 75) is substantially cheaper, easier to pass into law, and more effective. They can conduct engineering studies to downrate individual stretches then if they'd like.
Bad idea. People are already driving at 85 mph with some idiots going faster. If you come up on a slower driver or someone towing a trailer and you are driving at 80 or, more likely 85 or 90, your closing time and distance is shorter and your options decrease as people try to funnel around them. There's always going to be someone driving at 60 or 65 in their Winnebago Gigantus on their way to Las Vegas or Sun City.
Bad idea. People are already driving at 85 mph with some idiots going faster.
Ok, so this relates to a higher speed limit how?
Quote:
If you come up on a slower driver or someone towing a trailer and you are driving at 80 or, more likely 85 or 90, your closing time and distance is shorter and your options decrease as people try to funnel around them. There's always going to be someone driving at 60 or 65 in their Winnebago Gigantus on their way to Las Vegas or Sun City.
Again, citing the behavior of people breaking the law has little to do with reasons not to change the law.
I am in favor, particularly on I-40 between Edgewood and Clines Corners, of creating and enforcing a speed minimum of 65mph. For some reason there's always a station wagon with Oklahoma plates going westbound about 45 with a 3-mile-long convoy of trucks behind them. Them Okies present the safety hazard, not me.
We just returned from a trip from NH to Yellowstone Nat park and back. Interstate speed limits were 80 mph in North Dakota and Montana east of Billings. Speed limits on the straight and gently rolling sections of old two lane Federal 26 in NW Nebraska were 75 mph. The entire road was striped for passing even in places it was unsafe.
On the Interstates I set the speed at 88 on Cruise control and only had to slow down a couple of times. I was driving at 80 on the Federal Road and a big truck came over a blind hill on my side of the road as he was passing a SUV. I slowed down and used the shoulder and he moved back into his lane. Close but close don't count except in horseshoes and hand grenades.
I think raising the speeds limits to 80+ on the empty parts of the Interstates and 75 on the empty 2 or 4 lane federal roads would be reasonable safe and decrease transit times as well. Modern cars are so efficient that gas mileage does not decrease that much. My 2004 C-5 Corvette coup was getting about 26 mpg at about 90 mph. That is ok by me.
I know I have done a similar thread in the past, however, this thread is to know your opinion on where do you think 80 mph speed limits should be introduced if the state were to allow it. There are currently two states in the U.S. that allow 80 mph speed limits, those states are Texas and Utah.
Here is where I would put 80 mph speed limits:
I-25 between Las Cruces and Socorro.
I-25 between Las Vegas and Raton.
I-40 between Albuquerque (west of Unser exit) and Grants (this stretch actually has a minimum speed limit).
US 70 through White Sands (the only 75 mph non-interstate stretch of highway in New Mexico).
Does anyone have their own opinions on where the state should introduce 80 mph speed limits if the state were to allow it?
I agree and would make it broarder than you road wise. I drive close to 80 on some state highways that I know vrey welll and which are safe to do so and have low traffic counts as I drive to Taos/Angel Fire area from Texas several times a year. When driving 600 miles the high speed makes a noticeable difference.
I drive vehicles that are designed for higher speeds and have an excellent driving record, with no accidents my fault in 50 years and only one accident in 30 years where someone hit me running a red light. I am a defensive driver and do not text, talk on the phone or otherwise distract myself when driving at all not to mention at this higher speeds.
I agree and would make it broarder than you road wise. I drive close to 80 on some state highways that I know vrey welll and which are safe to do so and have low traffic counts as I drive to Taos/Angel Fire area from Texas several times a year. When driving 600 miles the high speed makes a noticeable difference.
I drive vehicles that are designed for higher speeds and have an excellent driving record, with no accidents my fault in 50 years and only one accident in 30 years where someone hit me running a red light. I am a defensive driver and do not text, talk on the phone or otherwise distract myself when driving at all not to mention at this higher speeds.
Note that NM doesn't currently allow speed limits higher than 70 mph on non-Interstate highways, with an exception granted for US 70 through White Sands National Monument. In fact, even 70 mph is not all that common on non-Interstate rural roads in New Mexico; most are usually 65 mph, and I think state law requires an engineering study for such roads to be raised to 70 mph.
However, I can see some non-Interstates (such as US 285 north of Roswell) easily being raised to 75 mph.
Clayton to spring should be raised as well as from NM TX border on 'I40" to 'mescaro' to Roy to Wagon mound to black lake other than the nine mile gravel road stretch.
The biggest problem I had on this trip was when I was driving at 80 mph on a two lane Interstate and came upon a set of trucks pack drafting at 65 or so blocking both lanes. In some places the truck traffic was doing 45 while climbing hills.
I have driven in Southern New Mexico and see no problems with raising the speed limit on Interstates to 80 and to 75 on some four lane secondary roads. Some of the secondary roads such as Rt 159 over the Black Range are OK as they are.
Now reading about the incident that happened in Los Angeles today, im on the fence of raising it, but honestly when im on I-10 to El Paso all the crazy Texans go 90 mph already so..
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