Bob Haase Another Can Of Worms

80 MPH Speed Limit

 

We used to have a 65 MPH speed limit on Highway 41 and most people drove 70 to 75 with a few people exceeding 75.  Now we have Interstate 41 and a 70 MPH speed limit.  I wondered how fast the traffic would move when we increased the speed to 70.  I have found that most people drive around 75 which is expected and more and more people are driving 80 MPH plus.

One of the things that I also wondered about is how fast the trucks would be traveling and I have found most of them are holding between 70 and 75 but some are also pushing that 80 MPH plus speed.  There is a lot of weight in a loaded semi and I wonder what the stopping distance would be for a loaded truck going between 80 and 85 MPH?  I would not want to be the car in front of a loaded semi going that fast if there was a need to stop quick.  

We have an aging society with many more people driving today between the ages of 70 and 95 with me being one of them.  I still feel pretty comfortable driving between 70 and 75 but don’t feel that I should be going over that.  I know that as I get older my reaction speed  is slower than it used to be. I think there may be other peo

One of the reasons given for raising the speed limit was because they said it would be safer.  I did not believe that and still don’t.  If that was the case why not make it 100 MPH and then it would really be safe.  They also said that it would make it safer because there would not be as much difference between the highest speed and lowest speed but that is not the case either.  Now we have people driving between 65 and 85 MPH instead of 65 and 75 MPH.  I think we will also see more bad accidents in the winter when people fail to slow down in snowy and slippery conditions. 

Maybe most people don’t mind going 80 MPH or faster and maybe it will be safer driving faster but I don’t think so.  I think the traffic fatality numbers over the next 12 months will tell the story.  What do you think?  How fast do you think is right for Interstate 41 and similar highways?  I am not talking the posted speed but the speed most people are actually driving.  

Bob Haase is the host of “Outdoors Thursday” heard Thursday mornings at 9:10 a.m. on News-Talk 1450 KFIZ.