New Jersey Assemblyman: 75 mph limit on Turnpike, Parkway

[jeffandnicole]

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2013/08/14/n-j-lawmaker-wants-to-raise-turnpike-parkway-speeds/

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2013/08/nj_lawmaker_want_to_raise_speed_limit_to_75_on_parkway_turnpike.html#incart_river_default

[cpzilliacus]

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2013/08/14/n-j-lawmaker-wants-to-raise-turnpike-parkway-speeds/

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2013/08/nj_lawmaker_want_to_raise_speed_limit_to_75_on_parkway_turnpike.html#incart_river_default

Why not?  According to Looking for America on the N.J. Turnpike, the original design speed for most (maybe all?) of the Pike was 80 MPH - in 1951, when motor vehicles did not have seat belts or any of the other equipment that is present in the fleet today.

[Alps]

Turnpike, absolutely, once the widening is open. 75 mph up to Exit 9, then 65 mph up to Exit 14. I know the roadway gets crowded and urban, but hell, I-78 is 65 mph even inside Newark.
Parkway, not so much. I'd make the Express Lanes 75, but otherwise the road really isn't built with the right sightlines for that.
In both cases, keep enforcement as it is now - 80 and above gets a look, 85 and above probably gets pulled.

[cpzilliacus]

Turnpike, absolutely, once the widening is open. 75 mph up to Exit 9, then 65 mph up to Exit 14. I know the roadway gets crowded and urban, but hell, I-78 is 65 mph even inside Newark.
Parkway, not so much. I'd make the Express Lanes 75, but otherwise the road really isn't built with the right sightlines for that.
In both cases, keep enforcement as it is now - 80 and above gets a look, 85 and above probably gets pulled.

Maybe more than the suggested increase in the posted speed limit(s) on the Turnpike and the Parkway, I really liked the notion that he wanted to leave the actual speed limit setting to engineers and not to elected officials. 

[jeffandnicole]

South of Atlantic City (which is where I normally travel), traffic can get by at 70 - 75 mph without a problem.  The worst of it is the short accel/decel lanes at some of the interchanges. 

NJ Turnpike...for now, from Interchange 1 - 5, 75 mph is easily attainable for the most part.  The worst is on summer weekends when there's a large amount of travelers (and a good portion of them are left lane hogs, slowing the highway down for everyone).

Expanding south into Delaware (Yeah, this is a rant, separate from the topic): I'd like to see the DRBA which runs the Delaware Memorial Bridge raise its speed limit as well up from the current 50 mph.  Even though the bridge and roadways have been made safer throughout the years, they for some reason hold onto the old 50 mph speed limit.  Don't give me that there's no shoulders on the bridge as an excuse, as other tunnels/bridges with no shoulders (95 in Maryland) have 55/65 mph limits.  The rest of their jurisdiction does have full shoulders and a 50 mph limit.  And it doesn't explain why the DRBA maintains a 50 mph speed limit sign at the very end of their jurisdiction as one enters NJ. 

[agentsteel53]

In both cases, keep enforcement as it is now - 80 and above gets a look, 85 and above probably gets pulled.

may as well say "speed limit 85", then.

depends on your definition of "gets a look".

[SteveG1988]

I thought the NJ Turnpike had a design speed of 70

[jeffandnicole]

In both cases, keep enforcement as it is now - 80 and above gets a look, 85 and above probably gets pulled.

may as well say "speed limit 85", then.

depends on your definition of "gets a look".

From my experiences...if you're just driving along, you're probably ok. But if they don't like something about you or the vehicle you're driving, they may think about going after you.  And my experiences are - at 82 mph, they do nothing. Once, at night, in a group of vehicles, we all drove by a cop with his spotlight on at a 90' angle (in a way that it was completely hidden until you drove by).  He went after one person in the middle of that group of vehicles.  Why that person?  Who knows...

[elsmere241]

Expanding south into Delaware (Yeah, this is a rant, separate from the topic): I'd like to see the DRBA which runs the Delaware Memorial Bridge raise its speed limit as well up from the current 50 mph.  Even though the bridge and roadways have been made safer throughout the years, they for some reason hold onto the old 50 mph speed limit.

That 50 mph speed limit goes back to when NMSL was 55, basically saying, "You really need to slow down here."  But that was when there were two-way tolls and I-295 was narrower.

[NE2]

depends on your definition of "gets a look".

They look at your skin color to see if it's awesome.

[Avalanchez71]

South of Atlantic City (which is where I normally travel), traffic can get by at 70 - 75 mph without a problem.  The worst of it is the short accel/decel lanes at some of the interchanges. 

NJ Turnpike...for now, from Interchange 1 - 5, 75 mph is easily attainable for the most part.  The worst is on summer weekends when there's a large amount of travelers (and a good portion of them are left lane hogs, slowing the highway down for everyone).

Expanding south into Delaware (Yeah, this is a rant, separate from the topic): I'd like to see the DRBA which runs the Delaware Memorial Bridge raise its speed limit as well up from the current 50 mph.  Even though the bridge and roadways have been made safer throughout the years, they for some reason hold onto the old 50 mph speed limit.  Don't give me that there's no shoulders on the bridge as an excuse, as other tunnels/bridges with no shoulders (95 in Maryland) have 55/65 mph limits.  The rest of their jurisdiction does have full shoulders and a 50 mph limit.  And it doesn't explain why the DRBA maintains a 50 mph speed limit sign at the very end of their jurisdiction as one enters NJ.

Are they left lane hogs due to the speed under the limit?

[Interstatefan78]

If they do Raise the speed limit to 75 on the GSP and NJTP perhaps they will need new signs that say 75 mph fines doubled,but the GSP will have 75 mph fines doubled zones are exits 100-127 and E Exit 163-NY state line and NJTP is exits 1-13 for the 75 mph fines doubled zone

[1995hoo]

If they do Raise the speed limit to 75 on the GSP and NJTP perhaps they will need new signs that say 75 mph fines doubled,but the GSP will have 75 mph fines doubled zones are exits 100-127 and E Exit 163-NY state line and NJTP is exits 1-13 for the 75 mph fines doubled zone

Huh?????? Trying to figure out what you're saying makes my brain hurt.

[SteveG1988]

If they do Raise the speed limit to 75 on the GSP and NJTP perhaps they will need new signs that say 75 mph fines doubled,but the GSP will have 75 mph fines doubled zones are exits 100-127 and E Exit 163-NY state line and NJTP is exits 1-13 for the 75 mph fines doubled zone

Huh?????? Trying to figure out what you're saying makes my brain hurt.

If they do increase the speed limit, NJ will be raising the 65mph to 75, meaning the 65mph Double Fine signs will be replaced, and he was giving the sections with 65mph i think, that is my best guess

[roadman65]

If they do Raise the speed limit to 75 on the GSP and NJTP perhaps they will need new signs that say 75 mph fines doubled,but the GSP will have 75 mph fines doubled zones are exits 100-127 and E Exit 163-NY state line and NJTP is exits 1-13 for the 75 mph fines doubled zone

Huh?????? Trying to figure out what you're saying makes my brain hurt.

If they do increase the speed limit, NJ will be raising the 65mph to 75, meaning the 65mph Double Fine signs will be replaced, and he was giving the sections with 65mph i think, that is my best guess

I finally figured out what he was saying too!  I do not know if I need to worry now, or is he slowly getting better in his grammar?  Whatever, he still has a way to go just like NJ does considering that they were one of the last holdups when the 55 mph law was repealed originally.  I find it hard to believe that NJ would go that high  especially when the nearest other state over 70 is Maine!

[Duke87]

In both cases, keep enforcement as it is now - 80 and above gets a look, 85 and above probably gets pulled.

Probably my favorite thing about New Jersey is that the state police are relatively generous with how much they'll allow you to speed by compared to some other jurisdictions. 85 is probably a good enforcement threshold for any freeway that's up to snuff on design standards... maybe 90 for some interstates out west. But some states *cough*Virginia*cough* will notoriously not give you that much.

The thing then is, if the enforcement threshold does not change, then raising the speed limit means little to the average driver. If they won't pull over 79 in a 65 any more than they will 79 in a 75, then it's no ticket for you either way. It does, however, have the arguable benefit of reducing the offense for people who do get pulled over. A ticket for 10 over will hit you less on your insurance than a ticket for 20 over, even if the fines are raised so that that's the same.

[Avalanchez71]

80 MPH and over in VA is automatically reckless driving.  They do not play as you stated in VA.

[1995hoo]

What Duke87 describes is one reason why I use the HOV or HO/T lanes in Northern Virginia. They're posted at 65 while the parallel general-purpose lanes are posted at 55. Unless the pickings are REALLY slim, 70 in a 65 won't even attract a look from a cop.

In addition to not hitting your insurance the same, in many states you're assigned fewer points on your license for a ticket for 1—9 mph over the speed limit compared to 10—19 over. That may not be trivial for some drivers.

From what I understand of insurance rates in New Jersey, the premium issue would be the big one there.

[cpzilliacus]

TOLLROADSnews: Legislation in New Jersey to allow higher safety-based speed limits on Turnpike and Parkway - O'Scanlon Monmouth Co pol moves

Note that this article has several quotes about Turnpike speeds from the superb Looking for America on the New Jersey Turnpike (should be required reading for anyone that wants to claim roadgeek status).

[jeffandnicole]

The assemblyman noted later on that the original source (the radio station) took his statements out of context (never heard that one before).  He wasn't proposing 75 mph speed limits; he was saying revise the law to allow the engineers to decide the top speed limits of the roadways, which could mean 70 or 75 mph limits.

As for what we think Interstatefan78 meant, when they permitted the 65 mph limit in NJ, they also said those limits would have doubled fines.  The actual law is a bit different than what the signs state.  And when they say doubled, it's not actually doubled...an $85 fine would become $140 or something like that (there's a reason why which I forget at this point). The actual law:

65mph zones: Fines for Speeding are doubled if you're going 10 mph or more over the limit. Additionally, fines are doubled for other infractions as well.

All other zones:  Fines for Speeding are doubled if you're going 20 mph or more over the limit.  But since there's no baseline amount anymore, what the law is really saying is if you're going within 19mph of the speed limit, you'll get a small fine (starting at about $85 or so).  20 mph or above and they'll throw the book at you (kinda) with a $200+ fine.

FWIW, many cops will charge you with 9 mph over the limit or 14 mph over the limit, regardless of your actual speed.  9 over the limit keeps you out of the double fine zone regardless of the speed limit (except in construction zones).  14 mph and under is a 2 point violation in NJ, whereas 15mph over the limit is a 4 point violation.  Then again, if you're a dick to the officer, he'll be a dick right back at you, which some people don't understand.

[mc78andrew]

80 MPH and over in VA is automatically reckless driving.  They do not play as you stated in VA.

Is that why I see Virginia plates hauling a$$ up here in the "north"?  Pent up demand to speed unleashed? 

It is nice to see some leadership on this issue.  They are leagalizeing everything else...not sure why the speed limit is last on the list? 

[agentsteel53]

maybe 90 for some interstates out west.

I don't think there's any place in the US where you can blow past a cop doing 90 and expect to not get pulled over for at least a warning.

83-84 seems to be the "bat an eye" threshold for most places with speed limit 75.  I don't have enough experience with speed limit 80; I go 83 there anyway.

[Duke87]

I don't think there's any place in the US where you can blow past a cop doing 90 and expect to not get pulled over for at least a warning.

Never said there was. My point was more that if 85 is safe in New Jersey, 90 is safe on any non-mountainous non-urban western interstate. And therefore pulling anyone over for less is pure revenue enhancement.

[Alps]

maybe 90 for some interstates out west.

I don't think there's any place in the US where you can blow past a cop doing 90 and expect to not get pulled over for at least a warning.

83-84 seems to be the "bat an eye" threshold for most places with speed limit 75.  I don't have enough experience with speed limit 80; I go 83 there anyway.

You might be OK in Montana at 90.

[Henry]

maybe 90 for some interstates out west.

I don't think there's any place in the US where you can blow past a cop doing 90 and expect to not get pulled over for at least a warning.

83-84 seems to be the "bat an eye" threshold for most places with speed limit 75.  I don't have enough experience with speed limit 80; I go 83 there anyway.

You might be OK in Montana at 90.

Actually, 90 would just be pushing it. At most, I could see 85.