Nevada legislature considering 85 mph speed limit

[gonealookin]

An 85 mph bill for freeways was introduced in the State Senate yesterday and appears to have a fair amount of support.  This would theoretically cut the 410-mile trip across Nevada on I-80 to around 5 hours and would also get Utah's money into Las Vegas a little quicker.  Anyone who's driven I-80 knows that if ever 85 mph were appropriate, that's the right road to pick.

Here's the present NV Speed Limit map

[corco]

To me 85 is the optimal driving speed- 87 or so is where, in most cars, I feel the difference between "I'm driving fast" and "I'm needlessly wasting fuel/feel like my engine is about to blow up"

I'd rather see Nevada up their speed limits on the major US routes to 75- 93 is a slow haul at 70

[agentsteel53]

most of the two-laners could handle it as well.  about 90% of the "speed limit 70" segments on that map could be raised to 85, if not 100.  good sight lines, hardly any traffic. 

Nevada has a habit of dropping the speed limit to 60 or 55 on curvy/mountainous sections of those two-laners, so there is precedent for gradations as a result of terrain.  I wouldn't object to the occasional 70/75/80 section in slightly hilly/curved sections, but when there is 20 miles of forward visibility, and not a single car to be seen, 85 and higher makes lots of sense.

[agentsteel53]

To me 85 is the optimal driving speed- 87 or so is where, in most cars, I feel the difference between "I'm driving fast" and "I'm needlessly wasting fuel/feel like my engine is about to blow up"

for me it's about 83 in my '97 Taurus.  if the speed limit were raised to 85 in Nevada, I don't think I'd change my driving speed too much - bring it up from 77 to 83 on the two-laners, and keep it at 83 on the freeways.

in Germany on the autobahn, I decided on 155 km/h, which is 96... in a much newer, less rattly, car. 

[corco]

Yeah, in my 02 Liberty I'd probably still hold it to 83 or so, but it'd nice to be able to accelerate quasi legally up to 90 to quickly pass a car going 80. Especially at those speeds, people don't need to be lurking in blind spots, passing .1 MPH faster than the car next to them.

[gonealookin]

The Review-Journal article contains a bit more information.  The politician who introduced the bill talks about "the lonely drive from Las Vegas to Carson City" (mostly on two-lane US 95) but the NDOT spokesman seems lukewarm on that part of it.

Transportation Department spokesman Scott Magruder said his agency takes a neutral position. He added the agency determines speed limits on three factors, whether there is limited access to road, whether a road is a divided highway with two, four or more lanes and on the "85 percent rule."

That rule determines the average speed driven by 85 percent of the motorists. On Interstate 80 in Northern Nevada, the average speed is 79 mph where the limit is 75 mph.

Magruder questioned whether U.S. Highway 95, the main route between Las Vegas and Reno, could ever see higher limits. The road for hundreds of miles is two-lane without wide shoulders.

[agentsteel53]

Yeah, in my 02 Liberty I'd probably still hold it to 83 or so, but it'd nice to be able to accelerate quasi legally up to 90 to quickly pass a car going 80. Especially at those speeds, people don't need to be lurking in blind spots, passing .1 MPH faster than the car next to them.

heh, when I am passing, I might accelerate to 90-95, with the legality of it far from my mind, compared to the safety of the maneuver.  if I get pulled over, I'll state that I wanted to spend as little time as possible in an opposing-traffic lane.

that said, most of the traffic I really feel the need to pass can be safely passed going 83.  I think that would remain the case even if the speed limit increased: a lot of people wouldn't change their driving patterns at all. 

if there's someone on the road doing almost exactly my speed and generally being a bear to pass (i.e. leapfrogging several times), I'll pull over for a minute for biological reasons, or to take some scenic photos, and never see him again.

[corco]

heh, when I am passing, I might accelerate to 90-95, with the legality of it far from my mind, compared to the safety of the maneuver.  if I get pulled over, I'll state that I wanted to spend as little time as possible in an opposing-traffic lane.

I was referring to passing on interstates, where people are far more apt to pull really slow passing maneuvers

[Truvelo]

I hope it succeeds. Over here a proposal to raise our speed limit from 70 to 80 has been abandoned. I suspect one of the reasons is due to the tolerance on speeding fines would make it a de-facto 90 limit before tickets are issued.

[agentsteel53]

I hope it succeeds. Over here a proposal to raise our speed limit from 70 to 80 has been abandoned. I suspect one of the reasons is due to the tolerance on speeding fines would make it a de-facto 90 limit before tickets are issued.

what's the point of tolerance, other than to encourage confusion and scofflaw behavior?

I would be happier if the speed limits were raised, and enforced rigorously.

are there roads in the UK where a speed limit of 90 would be safe?  I am so unfamiliar with its geography and population density that I cannot answer that question.

[agentsteel53]

I was referring to passing on interstates, where people are far more apt to pull really slow passing maneuvers

I'm okay with them doing so at 80mph, as opposed to at 57mph.

no matter how high the speed limit, you're always gonna find some asshole who is gonna pass a slow-moving vehicle at 1mph faster. 

[myosh_tino]

The Review-Journal article contains a bit more information.  The politician who introduced the bill talks about "the lonely drive from Las Vegas to Carson City" (mostly on two-lane US 95) but the NDOT spokesman seems lukewarm on that part of it.

Transportation Department spokesman Scott Magruder said his agency takes a neutral position. He added the agency determines speed limits on three factors, whether there is limited access to road, whether a road is a divided highway with two, four or more lanes and on the "85 percent rule."

That rule determines the average speed driven by 85 percent of the motorists. On Interstate 80 in Northern Nevada, the average speed is 79 mph where the limit is 75 mph.

Magruder questioned whether U.S. Highway 95, the main route between Las Vegas and Reno, could ever see higher limits. The road for hundreds of miles is two-lane without wide shoulders.

I can see how NDOT and the NHP would very hesitant to set 80+ MPH limits on 2-lane rural highways.  While I understand agentsteel's points about the straight roads and excellent sight lines, I believe the NDOT thinks there is a liability issue with setting speed limits that high.  After all these are still 2-lane roads where, at 80-85 MPH, all it takes is a slight lapse in concentration to cause a driver to lose control and crash.

[corco]

no matter how high the speed limit, you're always gonna find some asshole who is gonna pass a slow-moving vehicle at 1mph faster.

Even a fast moving vehicle- personally, if I'm going 85 in a 75 and somebody passes me at 86, it's like "come on man, just pass me"- if a deer or something runs out onto the road I want to have as much road as possible to maneuver if I'm maneuvering at 85 MPH, which is not an unreasonable thing to want on I-80 in Nevada where there's like two other cars within a mile.

[agentsteel53]

no matter how high the speed limit, you're always gonna find some asshole who is gonna pass a slow-moving vehicle at 1mph faster.

Even a fast moving vehicle- personally, if I'm going 85 in a 75 and somebody passes me at 86, it's like "come on man, just pass me"- if a deer or something runs out onto the road I want to have as much road as possible to maneuver if I'm maneuvering at 85 MPH, which is not an unreasonable thing to want on I-80 in Nevada where there's like two other cars within a mile.

well, now you're talking about being passed, as opposed to doing the passing.

for any and every value of N you decide on as your speed, you will find the one clown who insists on passing you at N+1.  this is independent of the speed limit, or of your choice of N.

[bugo]

This is great news.  I'd probably either do the speed limit or 5 over if I were driving in an 85 MPH zone.

[kphoger]

To me 85 is the optimal driving speed- 87 or so is where, in most cars, I feel the difference between "I'm driving fast" and "I'm needlessly wasting fuel/feel like my engine is about to blow up"

for me it's about 83 in my '97 Taurus.  if the speed limit were raised to 85 in Nevada, I don't think I'd change my driving speed too much - bring it up from 77 to 83 on the two-laners, and keep it at 83 on the freeways.

in Germany on the autobahn, I decided on 155 km/h, which is 96... in a much newer, less rattly, car. 

My natural driving speed on an open highway is about 88 mph.  But it can vary, depending on the vehicle.  So I would be quite content with an 85 mph limit, especially in empty quarters of the nation.  For speeds over 90 mph to feel right to me, I need not just a good road surface but also wide shoulders (both outer and inner).

I have a good friend who is a stickler when it comes to the speed limit.  He's working in the oilfields north of Pecos (TX) for a couple of weeks right now, and is loving the higher speed limits–so he apparently doesn't mind driving fast, but just doesn't want it to be illegal.  He sent me a Glympse invite yesterday, and I could see him doing 78 on the 75 zone near Mentone in his work truck, so I can tell he quite comfortable with the higher speed limit.

[bugo]

It depends on the car.  My car needs the tires balanced, so anything over 90 is sketchy.  A brand new BMW would be comfortable at 140 MPH.

[Brandon]

My natural driving speed on an open highway is about 88 mph. 

Hopefully you don't drive a DeLorean with a flux capacitor.  Otherwise, we know your true identity, McFly. 

[mapman1071]

Most of Nevada's Highways are 2 lane, I think that these roads should be set for 65mph max.
Interstate 15 70mph max South of LV, 75mph max North of LV
Interstate 80 70mph max West Of Reno, 85mph max East of Sparks slowing to 75 near Wendover.

[corco]

Most of Nevada's Highways are 2 lane, I think that these roads should be set for 65mph max.

You know they're 70 now, right. And I'll be damned if there are highways with greater visibility- I'll actually go 70 on US-93 even when it's snow-covered because you can seriously see a couple miles ahead

[myosh_tino]

Interstate 80 70mph max West Of Reno...

Disagree.  I-80 is 65 MPH in California so a 65 MPH limit in Nevada west of Reno makes a lot of sense by maintaining some continuity.  East of Reno, 75-80 MPH.  I'm not sure if 85 MPH limits are appropriate given the terrain and the unpredictable weather (especially in the winter).

[agentsteel53]

A brand new BMW would be comfortable at 140 MPH.

depends on one's driving skills.  I took a Citroen C5 up to 147 on the autobahn, and anything over 125 felt like I was putting in a lot of effort.  over 135-140 or so, I felt the car getting squirrely, but that 125-135 zone gave me discomfort solely because of my inexperience at those speeds.  my traveling companion, who has driven about twice as many miles as I have, was completely comfortable cruising around 133.

[oscar]

Most of Nevada's Highways are 2 lane, I think that these roads should be set for 65mph max.

I've just recently driven 70mph stretches of US 95 in Nevada, between Las Vegas and Fallon.  70mph (at least) is perfectly fine there.  NVDOT isn't shy about reducing the limit as needed on the curvier stretches. 

[Molandfreak]

Interstate 80 70mph max West Of Reno...

Disagree.  I-80 is 65 MPH in California so a 65 MPH limit in Nevada west of Reno makes a lot of sense by maintaining some continuity.  East of Reno, 75-80 MPH.  I'm not sure if 85 MPH limits are appropriate given the terrain and the unpredictable weather (especially in the winter).

Screw continuity. Minnesota does this on I-90 a few miles before WI and I find it rather annoying. At least they imply that the speed limit is 75 a few miles after the SD state line going eastbound as well...

My natural driving speed on an open highway is about 88 mph. 

Hopefully you don't drive a DeLorean with a flux capacitor.  Otherwise, we know your true identity, McFly. 

Damn it, you beat me to that one

[1995hoo]

Interstate 80 70mph max West Of Reno...

Disagree.  I-80 is 65 MPH in California so a 65 MPH limit in Nevada west of Reno makes a lot of sense by maintaining some continuity.  East of Reno, 75-80 MPH.  I'm not sure if 85 MPH limits are appropriate given the terrain and the unpredictable weather (especially in the winter).

Why does continuity matter? I think most drivers are accustomed to the idea of things like speed limit changes and such when you cross a state line, especially given how common it is to see a speed limit sign right after you cross into another state (at least on Interstates, anyway).