Increase the speed limits on I-70 and I-35 to 75 mph? (Wichita: property taxes, to live)

[Nameless]

Originally Posted by ajf131

Guess I should pay attention....I drove through Oklahoma along the old Route 66 path starting from St. Louis (I-44W to I-40W)...I-44 was definitely 75 mph....I thought I-40 west of OKC was 75 mph too, but I guess maybe I wasn't paying attention enough. If that's the case, why the hell don't they increase it? IMO, all of the Great Plains states need to have a 75 mph speed limit. I also think that more states in the Midwest need to increase their speed limits to 70 mph. Currently, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Indiana, and Michigan all have 70 mph speed limits in rural areas. I've never understood why Wisconsin, Ohio, and Illinois don't raise their speed limits to 70 mph...I guess for Ohio it's because of all the major cities they have and all the traffic there, and for Illinois I guess it is because of Chicago...and Wisconsin I guess it's also because of Chicago.

Yes I-44 was 75 mph because it's turnpikes all the way from Missouri to Oklahoma City. Now I-40 is 70 technically but most people go 75 like they do on I-70 in western Kansas. However, it can get annoying on I-40 to try going 75 because of all the semis. We drove I-40 all the way to Flagstaff, Arizona this summer and I've never seen so many semis.

Also, I can't speak for much of Texas. But I-35 from Oklahoma to DFW is only 70. And I-40 through the panhandle is only 70 as well. Which makes absolutely no sense and is absolute torture!

[fishbowl]

Going 70 mph for three hours will take you 210 miles.

Going 75 mph for three hours will take you 225 miles.

In four hours at 70 mph you can go 280 miles.

In four hours at 75 mph you can go 300 miles.

Is the 15 or 20 miles you gain in that amount of time really worth the expense of worse gas mileage and the loss of a certain amount of safety with the higher speed?

When we were going only 55 mph, gas consumption improved and a whole lot fewer people were killed on the road.

Like I said, what's the rush? Why not slow down and enjoy the moment, enjoy the drive?

I have driven all over this country, going the speed limit. I can tell you that I enjoyed it more when the speed limit was slower. Not because I'm afraid to go faster, but because a more leisurely pace gives us time to see things, enjoy the very moment we are in.

Janet

[darstar]

Originally Posted by fishbowl

Going 70 mph for three hours will take you 210 miles.

Going 75 mph for three hours will take you 225 miles.

In four hours at 70 mph you can go 280 miles.

In four hours at 75 mph you can go 300 miles.

Is the 15 or 20 miles you gain in that amount of time really worth the expense of worse gas mileage and the loss of a certain amount of safety with the higher speed?

When we were going only 55 mph, gas consumption improved and a whole lot fewer people were killed on the road.

Like I said, what's the rush? Why not slow down and enjoy the moment, enjoy the drive?

I have driven all over this country, going the speed limit. I can tell you that I enjoyed it more when the speed limit was slower. Not because I'm afraid to go faster, but because a more leisurely pace gives us time to see things, enjoy the very moment we are in.

Janet

Regarding safety , speed does not kill , other factors do , mostly drivers. Going with the flow , is the safest way , whatever the speed........ The slow poke causes most of the accidents , and , especially when this duffer is " enjoying the citizenry, and ,scenery"....while paying little attention to the big rig coming up on his bumper. If you want to just look out the window , please , take the train ,..... we will all be better for it.

[Nameless]

When most people have a 500 mile drive ahead of them their objective is to get there as fast as possible. I'd take a state highway if I wanted to enjoy the ride. Also, most people on an interstate have been on it many times so there's nothing to enjoy on the ride. It's just the same old stuff. I drive I-44 from Oklahoma City to Tulsa regularly and go as fast as possible.

[northbayeric]

I'd still argue for a higher speed limit on most of Kansas' interstate highways. However, there is something to be said for "going off the beaten path" on its U.S. and state highways. During my trip to St. Joseph, MO this past September, I really enjoyed my counterclockwise loop trip from St. Joe to Hiawatha, then south and back east to Atchison. I was mainly going about 65 mph during it.

And I didn't need no stinkin' cell phone neither! 75 mph + yakkity-yakkin' on a cell phone = potential multi-car pileup, at least in my case.

As they say, "y'all drive careful now!"

[Sco]

A bit off topic, but a somewhat related highway question.

I am planning to drive to Wichita from Phoenix soon and there are two routes to choose from once you reach eastern New Mexico. If you take US54, it cuts about 100 miles off the trip, but it looks like it is just a two lane highway with a lot of commercial traffic and small town speed traps of 20-30 mph zones. The other alternative is to continue on I40 through OK City, but that adds extra miles and maybe takes more time. If your priority was to reach Wichita as quickly as possible would you take the slower yet shorter 54 or the faster longer I40? Will it be aggravating to drive behind slow trucks/traffic on 54 and be unable to pass? Is 54 in good condition or is it a torn up rural highway? If weather is a factor, would it be safer to be on the interstate instead of rural western Kansas in terms of them clearing the road of snow/ice?

[straw hat]

70 or 75 what difference does it make? Check other posts. Too many drivers make up the speed limit and drive at it. If stopped by traffic cops it’s the states fault for posting too slow a speed limit. However the speeder must not have been driving as fast as his car would go; the cop caught them. Because you are the navigator of you ship, car, you can drive around Kansas if you like. If speed is your goal planes go fast; and you don’t have to look out of the window and see the most ugly of states Kansas as you fly over.

[Nameless]

Originally Posted by straw hat

70 or 75 what difference does it make? Check other posts. Too many drivers make up the speed limit and drive at it. If stopped by traffic cops it’s the states fault for posting too slow a speed limit. However the speeder must not have been driving as fast as his car would go; the cop caught them. Because you are the navigator of you ship, car, you can drive around Kansas if you like. If speed is your goal planes go fast; and you don’t have to look out of the window and see the most ugly of states Kansas as you fly over.

I think part of it's principle. Why drive the same speed in a "wasteland" that you drive in a higher populated area? At least that's how I see it.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by northbayeric

I'd still argue for a higher speed limit on most of Kansas' interstate highways. However, there is something to be said for "going off the beaten path" on its U.S. and state highways. During my trip to St. Joseph, MO this past September, I really enjoyed my counterclockwise loop trip from St. Joe to Hiawatha, then south and back east to Atchison. I was mainly going about 65 mph during it.

And I didn't need no stinkin' cell phone neither! 75 mph + yakkity-yakkin' on a cell phone = potential multi-car pileup, at least in my case.

As they say, "y'all drive careful now!"

The areas off of I-70 are very interesting, especially in the Flint Hills region. Another favorite area of mine is the Smoky Hill region north of I-70 in NW Kansas. You encounter rugged steep terrain with a lot of buttes. It is very dry there with a semi-arid climate, and looks like a typical "western" landscape.

[northbayeric]

Once again, thanks for the info, Plains10! Except for my drive in NE Kansas this past September, my only other experience driving through Kansas was on westbound I-70 back in 1986 when moving from Missouri here to CA. We didn't get to do any exploring off the interstate then.

I'll have to go to Google Images and the Flickr website and check for pictures of these two areas. I've heard of the Flint Hills--looks like they're between Topeka and Salina and run from the northern to the southern border--but not the Smoky Hill region. I don't think I'd want to live in NW Kansas, but it would be an interesting visit. Here's a website from the Kansas Geological Survey that gives some good info: http://www.kgs.ku.edu/Extension/smoky/smoky.html. Looks like the region takes up much of north central Kansas. This would be a good way to spend a three- or four-day weekend once we're settled in St. Joseph, MO.