Speed changes coming to Wyoming?

[corco]

A bill to allow cars to speed up to 10 MPH over the speed limit to pass another car just cleared committee and is going to the floor, and then there's a proposal to increase the speed limit to 80 in the works as well.

I like the first bill- the second I'm meh on. There certainly is little enough traffic in Wyoming to justify an 80 MPH speed limit, but road conditions quite often don't allow for that kind of speed, either because of wind, snow, or the general altitude/terrain, especially for drivers unfamiliar with driving in the area. I support it because I think speed limits are stupid, but I dislike it because of the out-of-state idiots that can't drive in wind and are all over the road when they try to go 75 having the opportunity to go 80.

Link to article

[agentsteel53]

I speed up well more than 10mph to pass a car.  the less time I spend in the British lane, the better.

[JREwing78]

I'm glad to see some kind of acknowledgement that, while passing, you NEED to exceed the posted speed limit by a certain amount to conduct a quick, and therefore SAFE, pass on a 2-lane.

If I'm passing someone going 50 in a 55mph zone, I'm frequently doing 70-80mph by the time I complete the pass and get safely back in my lane. The passing lane isn't to sit there and dawdle in all day in fear of getting a ticket.

[rarnold]

Not a big fan of the 80 MPH speed limit. Wyoming, while having unpredictable weather, also has unpredictable animals. Another question, are oil companies involved in this legislation? They have a large footprint in Wyoming, and this would increase their bottom line. Just a thought.

[vtk]

This would mean two cars could leapfrog, legally averaging 5MPH over the speed limit, as long as there's no oncoming traffic...

[roadfro]

I don't know that the law allowing going 10 over the speed limit is necessary. Why legislate a law that knowingly contradicts a law, i.e. the speed limit? That seems to send the message that the speed limit is not absolute, which is not a message that should be sent.

Don't get me wrong, I'll speed to overtake someone on a two-lane highway as well. The article even says that the troopers use common sense/judgement when observing other drivers passing.

[agentsteel53]

I don't know that the law allowing going 10 over the speed limit is necessary. Why legislate a law that knowingly contradicts a law, i.e. the speed limit? That seems to send the message that the speed limit is not absolute, which is not a message that should be sent.

Don't get me wrong, I'll speed to overtake someone on a two-lane highway as well. The article even says that the troopers use common sense/judgement when observing other drivers passing.

this just shows the folly of numerical speed limits in situations where traffic is so minimal that one can execute a suicide pass without danger.

[Brandon]

I don't know that the law allowing going 10 over the speed limit is necessary. Why legislate a law that knowingly contradicts a law, i.e. the speed limit? That seems to send the message that the speed limit is not absolute, which is not a message that should be sent.

Don't get me wrong, I'll speed to overtake someone on a two-lane highway as well. The article even says that the troopers use common sense/judgement when observing other drivers passing.

The law may be to keep the Farvas of the police world from acting like idiots.

[sp_redelectric]

A bill to allow cars to speed up to 10 MPH over the speed limit to pass another car

Sounds like current law in Montana.

[NYYPhil777]

I highly doubt this contradictive bill is going to become law.
This bill means I could speed up to 10 mph faster to pass a vehicle, and then they will make the speed limit 80?
I don't wanna go 90 mph just to pass a vehicle where there's a significant risk of running into a farm animal.
Seriously, Wyoming is one of those places where there's cattle as far as you could shoot a missile from a fighter jet.

[Truvelo]

Is the 10mph rule to pass a vehicle proposal intended just for 2 lane roads? I can understand completing the maneuver quickly if you're traveling on the opposite side of the road but on 4 lane roads or wider there's no need to speed up to safely pass. On freeways such a law could allow one to legally travel at 90 in an 80 in the left lane if there's a long line of slower traffic in the right lane.

[corco]

The law has been passed- but not the 80 MPH provision.

It only applies on undivided, two lane highways.

[agentsteel53]

I don't wanna go 90 mph just to pass a vehicle where there's a significant risk of running into a farm animal.

then don't. 

[Brandon]

I highly doubt this contradictive bill is going to become law.
This bill means I could speed up to 10 mph faster to pass a vehicle, and then they will make the speed limit 80?
I don't wanna go 90 mph just to pass a vehicle where there's a significant risk of running into a farm animal.
Seriously, Wyoming is one of those places where there's cattle as far as you could shoot a missile from a fighter jet.

Then keep your eyes open and your hands off the cell phone as you drive.  Not much difference between 80 and 90 when hitting something.  Better to avoid in the first place - cattle don't move all that fast, I'd worry more about the antelope instead.

[kphoger]

I don't wanna go 90 mph just to pass a vehicle where there's a significant risk of running into a farm animal.

then don't. 

Really.  If you have to get up to 90 mph to pass yet still remain within the 10 mph envelope, then you have to already be going at least 80 mph.  Chances are, if you're worried about going 90, then you're not going 80 either.  And if you're going, say, 68 mph, then you're only allowed up to 78 mph to pass.  Besides which, I find that, in rural areas with little traffic, it's rarely necessary to do 10 mph faster than the vehicle being passed.

[Scott5114]

I don't wanna go 90 mph just to pass a vehicle where there's a significant risk of running into a farm animal.

then don't. 

Really.  If you have to get up to 90 mph to pass yet still remain within the 10 mph envelope, then you have to already be going at least 80 mph.  Chances are, if you're worried about going 90, then you're not going 80 either.  And if you're going, say, 68 mph, then you're only allowed up to 78 mph to pass.  Besides which, I find that, in rural areas with little traffic, it's rarely necessary to do 10 mph faster than the vehicle being passed.

Depends on what you're passing. If I'm passing a semi I want to get the pass over and done with as quickly as possible, which means I'm going to have to go pretty fast.

[kphoger]

Meh, OK.  I said 'rarely', not 'never'.  In rural areas with light traffic, I often only speed up to about 10 mph faster than trucks, too–many of which cap their speed at lower numbers than 80 mph anyway.

[Alps]

The 68/78 argument is a red herring. You may go whatever the speed on the road is in your lane. You may pass at the posted speed + 10. If you're going 68 in an 80, you can still go 90 to pass someone and then go back to 68. Just because you're allowed to go 90 doesn't mean you have to.