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hmm. In reality, to many drivers, 80 means 90, 85 at the least. Of the cars I have seen pulled over on 25, 40, and 550 I doubt few if any were stopped for going 5 or maybe even 10 over in the middle of nowhere. Sometimes I think they post speed limits purposely lower than they know most people will drive.
hmm. In reality, to many drivers, 80 means 90, 85 at the least. Of the cars I have seen pulled over on 25, 40, and 550 I doubt few if any were stopped for going 5 or maybe even 10 over in the middle of nowhere. Sometimes I think they post speed limits purposely lower than they know most people will drive.
In two states (Arizona and Virginia), it is criminal to go more than 10 mph over the states' maximum speed limits (75 mph in AZ and 70 mph in VA). Thus you can get sent to jail if you are going above 85 mph in AZ or above 80 mph in VA. This is why I see NM raising its speed limit to 80 mph before AZ does, since past attempts to raise the speed limit in AZ have failed due to the refusal of the state's lawmakers to increase the criminal speeding threshold.
I was a lifelong resident of Texas until 18 months ago when I was able to retire. I moved here to get away from Texas. We don't need to emulate Texas. When Texas raised the speed limit, I lost my father to a car accident. I don't know if the speed limit had anything to do with it or not, but I do know that traveling at 80mph on I-10 between El Paso and San Antonio I get passed by many people going at least 90. Some people believe that they have the right to go 5 or 10 miles above the speed limit no matter how fast it is. If you want 80 mph speed limits, move to Texas and buy a giant pickup.
I'm good with the 75mph in most parts of the state.
It would be even better if they stepped it up on the 60/84 between Clovis and Fort Sumner, and all points from there.
The distances between the towns and points of interest out here are too far.
I'd like to spend some of my off-days not worrying about what spots are a potential speed-trap prior to getting to an actual freeway.
Just as an update, North Dakota had a bill to raise their speed limit to 80 this year, but it died. Does anyone think New Mexico can introduce an 80 mph bill this year? As with most states that have passed 80 mph bills (South Dakota being the lone exception), 80 mph zones should be determined by engineering studies (not blanket increases) and should primarily be in areas with low AADT or population.
I wouldn't be surprised if New Mexico is the next state to introduce an 80 mph bill. I would be very surprised if it is Arizona considering they have they have a law where any speed above 85 mph is considered criminal, and I am not sure if it will be Colorado due to the limited number of highways that can warrant an 80 mph speed limit due to the state's terrain.
This year? The NM legislative session is over for this year.
Given all the important stuff they can't get done, I think worrying about an 80 mph speed limit is near the bottom of the list.
I've posted about this topic on another thread already, but I can post it again here just for the sake of it. Ideally, New Mexico could introduce the 80 mph speed limit. But realistically, I would see the NMDoT doing engineering studies first to see which stretches of highway are suitable rather than a blanket 80 mph limit. And I only see the speed limit being raised to 80 on these stretches:
• I-25 between Socorro and Las Cruces (but maybe keep it at 75 mph between exit 9 and the border patrol checkpoint)
• I-25 between Las Vegas and Raton
• I-10 between the Arizona state line and Las Cruces (raise it to 70 in Deming and Lordsburg, keep it at 75 mph between the border patrol checkpoint and US 70/Picacho Ave, and raise it to 75 mph between Picacho Avenue and Motel Blvd)
I don't see how any stretch of I-40 could have an 80 mph speed limit because of the heavy truck traffic.
US 285 between Roswell and Vaughn was raised to 75 mph towards the end of 2018.
I've posted about this topic on another thread already, but I can post it again here just for the sake of it. Ideally, New Mexico could introduce the 80 mph speed limit. But realistically, I would see the NMDoT doing engineering studies first to see which stretches of highway are suitable rather than a blanket 80 mph limit. And I only see the speed limit being raised to 80 on these stretches:
• I-25 between Socorro and Las Cruces (but maybe keep it at 75 mph between exit 9 and the border patrol checkpoint)
• I-25 between Las Vegas and Raton
• I-10 between the Arizona state line and Las Cruces (raise it to 70 in Deming and Lordsburg, keep it at 75 mph between the border patrol checkpoint and US 70/Picacho Ave, and raise it to 75 mph between Picacho Avenue and Motel Blvd)
I don't see how any stretch of I-40 could have an 80 mph speed limit because of the heavy truck traffic.
US 285 between Roswell and Vaughn was raised to 75 mph towards the end of 2018.
I-10 has just as heavy truck traffic as I-40 Matt. That being established, I think there shouldn't be any speed limits on these roads. Reasonable and prudent is the way to go.
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We really don't want to be like Texas.
