Michigan Looking @ 80 MPH

[getemngo]

Regarding the 85th percentile speed... I question sometimes whether it works 100% of the time.

It does the job on a road that's been around for decades and driven mostly by people who know it well. But on a highway with a lot of long-distance travelers, or in a touristy area, there can be hazards (pedestrians, narrow lanes, blind intersections whatever) that aren't immediately obvious to the many who haven't driven it before. If the DOT looks at what drivers do and says "Well, that's it, we'll post the same speed most drivers are already going", nothing really changes. People who speed are going to speed regardless, and people who go too slowly will do that regardless. I don't see much difference from just posting "Reasonable and Prudent", except it's easier to issue tickets.

I know, I know, there's plenty of studies validating the 85th percentile. This is just how my brain works, is all.

Also something to consider: There are freeways, like US 131 through the I-196 interchange that I mentioned before, where the speed limit is now higher than than the design speed. It would be nice to take design speed into consideration... except then you wind up with roads that are purposely designed for slower speeds than they could be, with traffic "calming" measures and the like. I'm not sure what the solution is.

[NE2]

85th percentile is not for roads where non-obvious hazards exist or drivers are particularly shitty.

[getemngo]

There was an article in today's Grand Rapids Press:

80 mph freeway speed limits? West Michigan lawmakers wary of proposal

Interestingly, a slight majority of the comments (ugh, newspaper comments!) are against it. I've never seen a significant number of people against raising a state speed limit before.

[agentsteel53]

(ugh, newspaper comments!) are against it

it's either too gay, or not gay enough... I can never remember which.

yeah, newspaper comments tend to be awful.

[Brandon]

There was an article in today's Grand Rapids Press:

80 mph freeway speed limits? West Michigan lawmakers wary of proposal

Interestingly, a slight majority of the comments (ugh, newspaper comments!) are against it. I've never seen a significant number of people against raising a state speed limit before.

Not too surprising that west coast folks might not like it.  They drive too slow anyway.  It's always been Yoopers and Detroiters who fly like bats out of hell, but rarely folks from the west coast.  One can usually note a progression in speed heading from west to east along I-94 or I-96.  Near the Lake Michigan shoreline, people stick closer to the 70 mph limit.  As one goes east, the speeds increase until one crosses US-23 where the flow has a major uptick from 75 to 85 mph.

[vdeane]

The "speed kills" lobby is ironically strong in Michigan.

[jeffandnicole]

Newspaper comments typically attract the vocal minority crowd.  Or people that read half the story...and sometimes, barely get past the headline.

[getemngo]

Not too surprising that west coast folks might not like it.  They drive too slow anyway.  It's always been Yoopers and Detroiters who fly like bats out of hell, but rarely folks from the west coast.  One can usually note a progression in speed heading from west to east along I-94 or I-96.  Near the Lake Michigan shoreline, people stick closer to the 70 mph limit.  As one goes east, the speeds increase until one crosses US-23 where the flow has a major uptick from 75 to 85 mph.

In my experience, US 127 is the slow/fast dividing line, at least on I-69 and I-96.  I-94 has the fastest traffic in West Michigan, so it's harder to gauge. It's sad that, growing up, I thought the "I'm from Michigan, of course I speed!" meme meant we all go 74. 

[kphoger]

80 MPH in Michigan, especially in the I-94 Detroit-Chicago corridor is a no brainer. 

I remember my college days in which I took the "Free" way from Toledo to Chicago via I-94, and I couldn't even tell you how fast I was going for two straight hours -- I drove a 1983 Nissan Sentra with a speedometer which would "peg" at 85 MPH!!!   

The only time I personally drove I-94 into Michigan, I ended up going 88 mph (mostly in Indiana, actually, but then into Michigan for a tiny bit), and that seemed to be just a smidge above average.  At least three other drivers were doing basically the exact same speed.  We were in a hurry, and I took advantage of the favorable flow of traffic.

[Scott5114]

What Michigan really needs is higher speed limits on conventional highways. 55 across the Seney Stretch, for example, is completely idiotic. There's no reason the vast majority of two-lane highways can't have 65.

[JREwing78]

What Michigan really needs is higher speed limits on conventional highways. 55 across the Seney Stretch, for example, is completely idiotic. There's no reason the vast majority of two-lane highways can't have 65.

I'll echo that sentiment, having driven the Seney Stretch many, many times.

[Brandon]

What Michigan really needs is higher speed limits on conventional highways. 55 across the Seney Stretch, for example, is completely idiotic. There's no reason the vast majority of two-lane highways can't have 65.

I'll echo that sentiment, having driven the Seney Stretch many, many times.

The Seney Stretch could use 70 mph very easily.  Great sight lines, dead straight for 25 miles.

[getemngo]

A year and a half later, and they're at it again!

80 mph speed limits could hit some Michigan highways under new House proposal

[renegade]

What Michigan really needs is higher speed limits on conventional highways. 55 across the Seney Stretch, for example, is completely idiotic. There's no reason the vast majority of two-lane highways can't have 65.

This. 

I think they should consider the possibility of returning secondary highways to 65 mph, which is what they were before the national 55 mph speed limit was put into place in 1974.

[DevalDragon]

Using the exact same stock photo even!

A year and a half later, and they're at it again!

80 mph speed limits could hit some Michigan highways under new House proposal

[getemngo]

Using the exact same stock photo even!

Hadn't even noticed that! That's southbound US 131 at Ann Street in Grand Rapids. That sign used to be the point where the speed limit dropped from 70 to 55 for Grand Rapids - the first southbound Speed Limit 55 sign - until all of US 131 was raised to 70.

[texaskdog]

I can't see 80 in Michigan. Too much traffic on the relatively few freeways. 75 max, to me.

But the drivers are crazy. When I was a new driver back in 1987 and went to the UP I was shocked how drivers pass 4 cars at a time on a two-lane road like US 2.  After a few days I was doing it too.

[JamesT456]

I can go for 80mph since most drivers drive that fast anyways the last time I drove there this year. I can not see I-94 going 80 unless it is expanded to 6 lanes between Detroit, & where the current 6 lanes comes in around I-196 to the Indiana State Line. Too many 18 Wheelers, & slower traffic to go around.

[JREwing78]

I've argued for years that Michigan's state-maintained 4-lane divided and 5-lane highways should be posted for 60 - 65mph. Particularly in remote areas, the current 55mph postings are a joke. I wouldn't post any 2-lane for 70mph - there's too much traffic and not enough 2-lane roads built for that kind of speed in Michigan.

US-131 between Schoolcraft and Three Rivers should also get a boost to 65mph (with truck limits abolished), as well as the 4-lane divided section of M-99 between Lansing and Eaton Rapids. M-20 between Mount Pleasant and Midland can also be raised in the more rural areas to 65mph, as should US-31 between Grand Haven and Holland (if it isn't already).

I expect 80mph limits would be limited to the freeway stretches north of US-10. I could also see them on US-31 north of Muskegon, US-127 north of Ithaca, and I-69 east of Flint. All of these are lighter-traffic stretches in relatively rural areas. I would also like to see the truck speed limits either abolished or raised to 70mph (fully acknowledging most trucks are governed between 62 and 68mph.)

I could also see 75mph posted as the default on most freeways, with truck limits raised to at least 65mph. However, there are several stretches (US-23 between Ann Arbor and Flint, I-94 in Jackson, US-131 through Grand Rapids) which have safety concerns that need to be addressed before raising their limits.

I would also like to see safety improvements (longer acceleration/deceleration lanes, wider shoulders, additional lanes in more congested areas) before 80mph becomes commonplace on freeways downstate.