Speed Limit 85 (Houston, Italy: vehicles, business, cities)

[Trae713]

Originally Posted by kenshi

I'm pretty sure the autobahn does run through cities, just as our interstates do, but you're right that they have speed limits there as well as in construction areas and other spots where it isn't safe to drive fast. In fact, I think most of the autobahn at any given time has speed limits.

They are just reasonable speed limits.

[kenshi]

Originally Posted by Trae713

They are just reasonable speed limits.

Yeah. I think 130 km/h was pretty typical in the fast lane in the city. They also monitor traffic conditions and adjust the speed limit accordingly.

[Glucorious]

Originally Posted by kenshi

I'm pretty sure the autobahn does run through cities, just as our interstates do, but you're right that they have speed limits there as well as in construction areas and other spots where it isn't safe to drive fast. In fact, I think most of the autobahn at any given time has speed limits.

There are no segments through or into cities.

There have been people who sued the government because there were speed limits in some sections that were unwarranted, and they won. There is an advisory speed limit of 130 kmh on the Autobahn. That's just a recommendation. I think 130 kmh is the most environment-friendly speed or something.

Of course, construction areas do have speed limits. That's a no-brainer. Can't go 150 through a construction site.

So, yes, the speed limit inside the cities should be 80, imo. And once you leave the city, there should not be a speed limit. Ever went from San Antoni to El Paso? Hundreds of miles of nothing. You can go 100+ all the way without problems.

[kenshi]

Originally Posted by Glucorious

There are no segments through or into cities.

I'm gonna put this to rest.

Autobahn Design - German-Autobahn.eu

The main routes go around cities but the spurs go into them. That would be like if I-20 went around Dallas and Fort Worth (as it does) and I-635 or I-820 went straight through the middle in place of I-30. I was on some urban autobahn in Frankfurt.

And as I've seen on a documentary, they have giant LED signs over the roads to indicate speed limits in each lane similar to the ones we have that indicate traffic jams. The speed limits change with changing traffic conditions.

[plwhit]

Originally Posted by TexasHorseLady

In other words, you don't know much about that multi-thousand pound vehicle you're driving.

Stopping distance at various speeds is well-known. At 70 mph on dry pavement it takes a car 315 feet to stop. (Wet pavement takes a lot longer to stop.) If you are two car lengths behind the car in front of you at 70 mph and it has to stop suddenly (wreck in front of it or whatever), you're going to go through it.

And you're the one who thinks you're a good enough driver that you should be allowed to drive however fast you want. Yeah, right.

Geez, an article from 2004 written in Australia using Australian drivers and roads for the study

[TexasHorseLady]

So, you're saying that the laws of physics are different in Australia (or Great Britain, or any of the numerous other places that such studies have been done, including the U.S.) than in Texas?

[kenshi]

Originally Posted by TexasHorseLady

So, you're saying that the laws of physics are different in Australia (or Great Britain, or any of the numerous other places that such studies have been done, including the U.S.) than in Texas?

I've already given my rebuttal on the quoted text, but ya know there are things that can be different in another country that would affect the results besides the laws of physics, like the drivers, vehicles, and road conditions. I don't think any of these are significantly different in Australia than here, but if they were to do a survey where they gathered a bunch of African villagers in typical automobiles found in Africa on typical African (dirt) roads and tested braking distances, I would expect the results to be very different than here, and it's not because F!=ma in Africa.

[TexasHorseLady]

University of Oklahoma (about night time braking, but the formulas are useful).

RacingSchools.com (search for 70 mph to get to the pertinent stuff - useful information in here if one is able to accept it, and a racing school is presumably not prejudiced against speed)

Universal Tracking Technologies, California (this is for two axle trucks, so a bit higher than for automobiles, presumably)

Texas Driver's Handbook (they say 387 feet)

As for those of you with lightning quick reaction times and cars that will apparently stop in MUCH less distance than the average vehicle, you may not end up in the back seat of the car in front of you, but what about the person behind you with average reaction time and a normal car?

[migee]

I drive a well made car, built for speed. Recently I went the whole route on I-10 (Houston to New Mexico).

I did 80 in the designated spots...But, I-10 is not completely designed for high speeds. There were some bends that drivers could lose control (Even with a well built and well maintained car, I found myself letting up on the speed and gripping that wheel a little tighter)... The highways here need work to handle speeds like 80 MPH..

There were people that were driving well over the limit, perhaps doing 90 or 100...I'm afraid some of them will get a hard lesson (and unfortunately take other lives with them). And I am most surprised to see it done by SUV owners...Some of them have to realize their vehicles are not designed for high speeds - they are designed for off road driving.

I drove much in my business throughout the states - I've seen these trucks hit a bend too fast, suddenly just slightly go up on two wheels, and the drivers did not have the ability to straighten them out - they ended up losing control, flipping on their sides, and sometimes over.

I drove throughout Europe on many visits. Italy and Spain (for instance) also have the high speed toll roads. But the people there were more experienced with them (as they had them for years). Their roads are designed and "maintained" to handle speeds of 100+ MPH. But, most people there placed responsibility over novelty - and kept to about 80 MPH (which is a reasonable speed for long distance driving).

Most of the roads were only 2 lanes (away from the cities), and people kept to the right.

An interesting event I experienced was going from Southern Spain to France. It was a Sunday morning, and there was a motorcyle rally right on the 2 lane toll road.

It showed the maturity of the people towards the high speed roads. Those of us in our cars drove right along at about 80 MPH in the right lane, while the young people on the motorcycles were doing from 100 MPH to probably 130 MPH...they were flying.

But, they too kept to the rules of the road. Whenever there was a lengthy open spot in the right lane, all the motocross racers briefly pulled to the right lane to let the faster racers pass them by.

It was amazing to experience...It was like a dream sequence in a movie - Like I was the guy that suddenly found himself driving his car in the middle of a motorcycle race.

And they had to be in the thousands, as it went on for about 4 hours...large groups of motorcycles passing me like I was standing still - though I kept at a steady 80 MPH.

And I did not see one accident....

If our drivers here could get that maturity (rather than being facinated that they could drive at high speeds), and the roads were improved - It could make sense to raise the speed limit even higher.

[&heart]

I have a question and was hoping you guys could help me out. I live in San Antonio but need to get to Austin on Thursday. Can I take SH130 all the way from I10 until I hit the airport? If not, what would be the earliest I can get on it? I've never been down 130 but would really like to give it a try to avoid the mess that is I35. Thanks for your help!