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I’m happy with the enforcement in my state. If you act like an idiot you get pulled over, but if you are going a little over the speed limit chances are pretty good you won’t be bothered with. Speed traps are pretty rare.
PA: PA Turnpike is 70 mph
Rural highways: All interstates have a maximum of 65 mph except for PA Turnpike
Urban highways: Always 55 mph; 55 mph limit goes well outside of urban areas (pretty much through all suburban, except PA Turnpike which is 70 the whole length basically I think)
The Pennsylvania Turnpike is not the only Interstate in the Commonwealth with a 70 MPH speed limit. Here are the other Pennsylvania highways with 70 MPH limits:
I-79 from the West Virginia state line to I-70 (east junction), and from the Pennsylvania Turnpike to I-90
(Approximately 136 out of 183 miles)
I-80 from the Ohio state line to I-81, except two brief segments near Nittany Mountain and Nescopeck Mountain
(Approximately 242 out of 310 miles)
I-99 from the Pennsylvania Turnpike to U.S. 22, and from near PA 764 to U.S. 322 (east junction)
(Approximately 79 out of 85 miles)
I-380 from PA 196 to I-84
(Approximately 22 out of 25 miles)
U.S. 15 from PA 14 to the New York state line
(Approximately 49 out of 61 miles north of Williamsport)
Including 493 out of 552 miles of the Pennsylvania Turnpike system, that's more than 1,000 miles of Pennsylvania Interstates with a 70 MPH speed limit. In addition, many suburban and exurban highway segments with 55 MPH speed limits have been increased to 65 MPH, with more pending review by civil engineers.
In SoCal, the maximum posted speed limit is 65 but if you are going 80 on the freeway / toll road and everyone else is too, you're golden. I've never had a speeding ticket in my 35 years of driving, and believe me, I've driven a lot faster than 65 a lot of times.
I did have a friend get pulled over and lose his license for a month for going 100 on the toll road, though.
Most speed limits almost anywhere are too high for the excessive amount of distracted drivers out there. Poorly maintained cars and serious deficiencies concerning basic rules of the road don’t help either.
Also, there has been a noticeable uptick in the number of self-centered thoughtlessness on our roads in the last several years.
Shouldn’t have to mention the insane amount of congestion virtually everywhere these days. The rural west being the only exception.
That being said, a national speed limit of 65 for most rural interstates should be the absolute maximum, and 55 max for any and all 2 lane highways. 60 for divided highways that aren’t limited access.
All automobiles registered for public road use should also be governed at 65.
Wanna go faster, get a plane ticket.
No one seems to obey speed limits here either. I don’t know why or what the hurry is. I usually drive at around 70 on the interstate. People will run you over if you go slower..
Now that they raised the speed limits on the outer expressways and tollways around Chicago from 55 to 60 and 70mph, most of the speed limits in Illinois make sense. The only exception is some of the lightly traveled rural interstates where they could just as well repeal speed limit altogether. Driving from one end of this state to the other is a damned chore.
Now that they raised the speed limits on the outer expressways and tollways around Chicago from 55 to 60 and 70mph, most of the speed limits in Illinois make sense. The only exception is some of the lightly traveled rural interstates where they could just as well repeal speed limit altogether. Driving from one end of this state to the other is a damned chore.
I agree that Illinois should probably be higher (80?) on rural interstates, or at least most of them. However, I think I-24 should still be 70 because traffic on parts of 24 in another state is some of the country's worst. If I-24 wasn't that fast, people may be more likely to take 155/412 between STL and Nashville/beyond.
It's interesting to see different points of view!
As for climate change, I STRONGLY agree that it's a problem, but I'm still in favor of slightly higher speeds (especially on large two-lane and toll). I think they should add commuter rails even faster between major and some medium cities, though, to get the bulk of the traffic off roads and make the rest less congested. But I'll make another thread about that... I don't want to get this discussion off-topic.
New York state interstate speed limits are 65, and 55 in a lot urban areas. They need to be at least 65 in urban areas, 70 in urban/suburban areas, and 75 in rural areas. 65 is ridiculous.
Maximum speed limit in Washington state is 70 MPH.
With all the emphasis on global climate change dropping the speed limit to 55 MPH will reduce CO2 emissions by 30%....a HUGE number.
First world countries like Singapore have a 55 mph for safety....even though studies show the in urban areas with congestion the speed limit should be 45 MPH which would make traffic flow quicker and reduce the number of congested events.
Hopefully, soon we will get a "land ethic" and respect the planet by driving 55 MPH or slower, except in urban areas where it should be 45 MPH.
The Europeans are proposing to do this in the next few years. Why are we ALWAYS behind the rest of the world ??
My Honda Civic let's me see how well my MPG is on each driving trip I take, and when I'm going 75 on the PA Turnpike, I get MPG at or even slightly above what the EPA says my car will get on the highway, so I don't know how true that is with all newer engines... Sorry, no one is going to go only 55 in the middle of nowhere no matter how much they care about going green lol.
If you want to save gas and emissions, not flooring your gas pedal and keeping a constant speed is a much more viable way to do it, and maybe we should encourage people to not buy these excessively large trucks and SUVs too...
MN: Not really any toll roads.
Rural highways: 70 mph (could be faster)
No two lane parkways
Urban freeways: 60 generally; OK at that speed.
Rural roads: Generally 55, but a few are 65. Would like them all made 65 (the ones that are 55).
I-35E through St. Paul needs to be more than 45 mph though. I realize it's a political fight that was had decades ago, but that speed is awkwardly slow!
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