Faster speed limits coming to Texas highways Drivers in Texas will see faster speed limits on many highways

by the end of next year as a result of a recent change to state law, but experts say higher speeds will not necessarily lead to more dangerous roadways. The Texas Department of Transportation has raised speed limits from 70 to 75 mph on approximately 1,600 miles of interstate highways and tollways since House Bill 1201 was signed into law during last years legislative session. Speed limits on the SH 130 and SH 45 toll roads between Austin and Georgetown have increased from 75 to 80 mph. TxDOT plans to complete studies of all U.S. highways, state highways and farm-to-market roads by the end of this year and post new signs on those roads by the middle of next year. TxDOT previously had the authority to raise speed limits above 70 mph on highways in counties with fewer than 15 people per square mile. The new law authorizes the agency to increase speed limits on numbered highways in any of Texas 254 counties if engineering studies determine that the increase will be reasonable and safe. State Rep. Larry Phillips, one of the bills authors, said the law gives TxDOT more flexibility to adjust to changing driving habits on Texas highways. We determined that this would be a good option for TxDOT to have, Phillips said. Darren McDaniel, a speed zone engineer for TxDOT, said the agency has completed studies and installed new signs on most interstate highways in Texas, except for areas under construction and on Interstate 35 between Austin and San Antonio. TxDOT is currently studying U.S. and state highways, and McDaniel said he expects about half of those roads to see speed

limits increased from 70 to 75 mph by the end of this summer. The agency will finish studies of farm-to-market roads by the end of this year, but McDaniel said he doesnt anticipate increases on many of those roads because of their smaller size. Kelli Petras, a spokesperson for TxDOT, said the agency sets speed limits near the 85th percentile of observed speeds on a given roadway, which is the standard followed by most transportation authorities. Engineering studies take into account a roads pavement type, area topography, crash history and the number and placement of entrances and exits to determine whether a higher speed limit would be appropriate. The Texas Transportation Commission appointed by the governor must approve the increase before it goes into effect. There are multiple layers of checks to ensure that all safety considerations are made, Petras said. In 2010, unsafe speeds were a factor in 26,264 crashes statewide, according to a report by TxDOT. Of these accidents, 22,356 were caused by drivers traveling below the speed limit, while speeding caused 3,908 crashes. McDaniel said most crashes happen not simply because of high speeds, but because of a high differential in the speeds of cars on a roadway. When some cars are traveling much faster or slower than others, the potential for dangerous collisions increases. If a speed study determines that most cars are traveling higher than the posted speed limit, but that their speed is safe and reasonable, the limit may be raised in order to encourage slower drivers to travel closer to the speed of faster drivers. Anytime we do speed zoning, the goal is to set limits at the safest speed, McDaniel said. The safest speed to drive is the same speed everybody else is driving.

McDaniel said when TxDOT raised speed limits from 70 to 80 mph on Interstate 10 and Interstate 20 in rural West Texas in 2006, the number of fatalities on I-10 decreased from 86 to 70, and I-20 saw a decrease from 17 to six. Petras said TxDOT will continue to monitor crash data on all recently changed speed zones to ensure the speeds are in fact safe. McDaniel said TxDOT receives both positive and negative feedback from citizens regarding the higher speed limits. About 50 percent of people say its too fast, and the other 50 percent say we should go even faster, said McDaniel. Police departments throughout the state are adjusting to the new law in order to prevent safety problems with the faster speed limits. David Scurlock, an officer with the Georgetown Police Department, said he does not believe higher speed limits will necessarily cause a significant increase in speeding. "So far, a lot of the cars are still going below the new posted speed limit, so there hasn't been much we have had to do," Scurlock said. "There has actually been a reduction in the number of traffic stops for speed. Kasen Schneider, a junior at Churchill High School in San Antonio, said he frequently travels on highways with increased speeds, and he does not believe the higher speed limits will cause drivers to change their old habits. "As a new driver, it is kind of exciting, Schneider said. I usually drove a little over the speed limit anyway, so I don't think I will necessarily speed up now, it's just not illegal to go 75 anymore."

Dr. Randy Machemehl, director of the Center for Transportation Research at the University of Texas at Austin, said drivers who do choose to speed up may find that they use more fuel to travel the same distance, depending on their driving habits and type of vehicle. Basic physics tells us that if one travels faster, one uses more energy because air drag increases roughly as a square of your speed, Machemehl said. The car is going to use more fuel, but it will save people some time, which is also a valuable resource. Andrea Morrow, a spokesperson for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, said a five to 10 mph increase in speed limits will not have a significant impact on emissions or air quality. The agency uses the United States Environmental Protection Agencys Motor Vehicle Emissions Simulator (MOVES) to assess emissions from mobile sources such as vehicles. The MOVES model does not predict a significant change in emission rates for the speed range of 55 to 75 mph, Morrow said. The current conclusion is that changing speed limits will have an insignificant effect on air pollution. Utah is the only other state that allows 80 mph speed limits on any of its roadways. In 2008, the state legislature directed the Utah Department of Transportation to test 80 mph speed limits on two sections of Interstate 15 in a rural area south of Salt Lake City. State law limits speeds on all other rural interstates to 75 mph. Robert Hull, director of traffic and safety at UDOT, said follow-up studies of the experimental increase showed only a small increase in the speeds of most drivers. People were still comfortable driving 80 mph, as they were doing before the change, Hull said. People didnt drive faster, which was always the fear.

Hull said the test areas had a 20 percent reduction in speeding violations, and preliminary data shows that the number and severity of crashes did not increase. In response to these results, two more experimental speed zones were established on I-15 in 2010. Right now it looks very positive, Hull said. There will always be folks that are concerned the speed limit will continue to go up no matter how high we raise it, and that crashes are going to be worse. But we havent seen that. Hull said he is familiar with the leadership at TxDOT, and believes the agency will complete all required testing and analysis to ensure that higher speed limits will be safe. Im very confident that the people of Texas can rely on TxDOTs decision-making processes, Hull said. They have a lot of experience and knowledge behind them. Jason Remmert, a senior at the University of Texas, said he thinks the higher speed limits are a good idea, but that it will be up to individuals to ensure safety on the roadways. So long as long as drivers don't think an increased speed limit means they should be speed demons, it's a good call, Remmert said.