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Old 09-05-2011, 01:33 PM
 
Location: Bayou City
3,017 posts, read 5,194,023 times
Reputation: 2546

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Quote:
Originally Posted by loves2read View Post
as long as there are no accidents
wonder what the damage differential is between car going 70 and one going 85 if there is blown tire or crash...
any place to find that on the Internet

maybe there is not that much difference between the two limits for damage
Of course, as Texans are wont to do, the 85 limit will be used as a baseline, rather than an upper limit. Prepare for average speeds from about 90-100 mph. At these speeds the crashes will become much more gruesome and spectacular. More multi-car pile-ups, more decapitations, more vehicular explosions. Texans had better start getting their dental work up-to-date, as that will likely be the only way they can ID you should you be so unfortunate. Way to go Texas.
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Old 09-05-2011, 01:42 PM
 
Location: Northeast Texas
816 posts, read 1,938,817 times
Reputation: 557
Quote:
Originally Posted by MrSykes View Post
Of course, as Texans are wont to do, the 85 limit will be used as a baseline, rather than an upper limit. Prepare for average speeds from about 90-100 mph. At these speeds the crashes will become much more gruesome and spectacular. More multi-car pile-ups, more decapitations, more vehicular explosions. Texans had better start getting their dental work up-to-date, as that will likely be the only way they can ID you should you be so unfortunate. Way to go Texas.
Head-on crash is much more gruesome...

Keep your head up and look at the road. Drive defensively. Don't do anything stupid like texting, calling, or changing music.

Let me ask you something, cars are able to handle these speeds nowadays. Should we keep 70 mph for the rest of our lives?
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Old 09-05-2011, 02:29 PM
 
15,913 posts, read 20,122,263 times
Reputation: 7693
Quote:
Originally Posted by MrSykes View Post
Of course, as Texans are wont to do, the 85 limit will be used as a baseline, rather than an upper limit. Prepare for average speeds from about 90-100 mph. At these speeds the crashes will become much more gruesome and spectacular. More multi-car pile-ups, more decapitations, more vehicular explosions. Texans had better start getting their dental work up-to-date, as that will likely be the only way they can ID you should you be so unfortunate. Way to go Texas.
As I mentioned in a previous post, 85 MPH has been a fact here in Texas for many many months, I don't remember the traffic fatalities or accident rate being any higher.

Anybody?

Most people drive a speed they are comfortable with, those that fear speed just stay in the right lane, simple.

I just hope they'll enforce the minimum speed limit as much as the maximum speed limit for a change.

Slow drivers kill...
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Old 09-06-2011, 01:49 AM
 
2,310 posts, read 3,904,082 times
Reputation: 1201
Quote:
Originally Posted by plwhit View Post
As I mentioned in a previous post, 85 MPH has been a fact here in Texas for many many months, I don't remember the traffic fatalities or accident rate being any higher.
Quote:
HUH? I drove from SA to San Diego last December and IH 10 was 85 MPH back then.
If you say so, but I drove on the same route in March and it was 80 from west of Kerrville to near El Paso.
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Old 09-06-2011, 07:43 AM
 
Location: Austin, TX
15,241 posts, read 35,440,091 times
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Quote:
wonder what the damage differential is between car going 70 and one going 85 if there is blown tire or crash...
The autobahn in Germany has one of the lowest accident rates in the world (or did, I hear congestion is an issue now), but when there was an accident, the fatality rate per accident was one of the highest; however, the OVERALL fatality rate per vehicle mile traveled was very low. So, speed does not create accidents, but it can create fatalities.

AS for people still blowing past the speed limit:
Not me, not at those speeds. With gas as expensive as it is and gas consumption going up exponentially as speed goes up, I would run out of gas between stations out in west Texas . Also, from past experience in my Nissan Maxima (which LOVED to go faster than I intended it), 85-90 is about the maximum speed that I am really comfortable at most of the time. The 'event horizon' is way too close, even on a clear, straight road, above that speed. I suspect most rational people will not go much above the speed limit, as well.
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Old 09-06-2011, 08:30 AM
 
Location: Corpus Christi
286 posts, read 566,570 times
Reputation: 501
Quote:
Originally Posted by MrSykes View Post
Of course, as Texans are wont to do, the 85 limit will be used as a baseline, rather than an upper limit. Prepare for average speeds from about 90-100 mph. At these speeds the crashes will become much more gruesome and spectacular. More multi-car pile-ups, more decapitations, more vehicular explosions. Texans had better start getting their dental work up-to-date, as that will likely be the only way they can ID you should you be so unfortunate. Way to go Texas.
You watch too much television. Cars don't explode, they burn.
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Old 09-06-2011, 10:47 AM
 
Location: Lake Arlington Heights, IL
5,479 posts, read 12,197,736 times
Reputation: 2847
Quote:
Originally Posted by Trainwreck20 View Post
The autobahn in Germany has one of the lowest accident rates in the world (or did, I hear congestion is an issue now), but when there was an accident, the fatality rate per accident was one of the highest; however, the OVERALL fatality rate per vehicle mile traveled was very low. So, speed does not create accidents, but it can create fatalities.

AS for people still blowing past the speed limit:
Not me, not at those speeds. With gas as expensive as it is and gas consumption going up exponentially as speed goes up, I would run out of gas between stations out in west Texas . Also, from past experience in my Nissan Maxima (which LOVED to go faster than I intended it), 85-90 is about the maximum speed that I am really comfortable at most of the time. The 'event horizon' is way too close, even on a clear, straight road, above that speed. I suspect most rational people will not go much above the speed limit, as well.
I am usually an advocate of higher speeds. But 2 things to consider in comparison to the Autobahn:
1) Driver training is much more rigorous in Germany. Closer to getting a pilot's license than the "pull a license from a box of Cracker Jacks" approach I feel US uses.
2) the roads are designed for the higher speeds. I read a book about US Interstates and I believe the uniform design was for speeds of 70 or 75. In wide open, straight areas I don't think this is a problem, but in hilly areas with curves, if the highway is designed for 75 and people are going 85+ that's not a good idea.
Drinking and eating while driving, texting while driving are frowned upon by German drivers. They are taught that such distractions at high speed are deadly. Is the typical US driver that disciplined. Is enforcement rigorous enough to discourage it, as it is in Germany?
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