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AP reports that Montana lawmakers are drafting bills that would raise the daytime speed limit on Montana interstate highways from 75 to 80 and possibly as high as 85 mph. “I just think our roads are engineered well, and technology is such we can drive those roads safely,” says Art Wittich noting that Utah, Wyoming and Idaho have raised their speed limits above 75, and they haven't had any problems and drivers on German autobahns average about 84 mph. State Senator Scott Sales says he spent seven months working in the Bakken oil patch, driving back and forth to Bozeman regularly. “If I could drive 85 mph on the interstate, it would save an hour,” says Sales. “Eighty-five would be fine with me."
A few years ago Texas opened a 40 mile stretch on part of a toll road called the Pickle Parkway between Austin and San Antonio. The tolled bypass was supposed to help relieve the bottleneck around Austin but the highway was built so far to the east that practically nobody used it. In desperation, the state raised the toll road speed limit to 85 mph, the fastest in the nation. "The idea was that drivers could drop the top, drop the hammer, crank the music and fly right past Austin," says Wade Goodyn. "It's a beautiful, wide-open highway — but it's empty, and the builders are nearly bankrupt."
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 02 2014, @12:09PM
But if someone from California were to drive on such a highway, they would roll their car.
I myself don't have a problem driving a pickup truck at 100 MPH, but I'm not going to suggest that just anyone can do so.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by DrMag on Tuesday December 02 2014, @12:26PM
I grew up in Montana, during the wonderful time where our speed limit was "Reasonable and Prudent". It made sense for us. Generally the only people that I would see pass me were from out of state, so you're right.
More importantly, they need to have a clear law that explains why the speed limit is no longer 85 MPH at night during a heavy snow storm. Montana natives would never think of driving even 65 MPH during such conditions, but someone who has never experienced snow might not have a clue how stupid it would be to do so.
(Score: 2) by bootsy on Tuesday December 02 2014, @01:20PM
I think the French system is pretty sensible. It's in km per hour but it is basically 80mph in the dry and 70mph if it rains.
The UK system is silly. 70mph for a car on a daul carriage way and a motorway yet vehicles over 2.5 metric tonnes can go faster on a motorway than a dual carriage way. We acknowledge motorways are safter than dual carriageways and allow faster driving apart from for cars.
Everyone basically does 80mph in car and the police don't seem to ban. We have an instant driving ban if you do over 100mph.
Last year UK motorways were the safest roads in Europe per distance travelled which given how full they are is an impressive result as European roads tend to be quieter.
(Score: 2) by nitehawk214 on Tuesday December 02 2014, @02:45PM
I think the busy part of the Autobahn system would work better. Digital signs that controllers set the speed limit on depending on traffic and conditions. In the wide open part of the road when there is no weather? Whatever you want.
"Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh
(Score: 2) by dyingtolive on Tuesday December 02 2014, @09:59PM
We had those for about a year in a part of St. Louis in a half-assed probably-way-too-expensive means to combat the rampant traffic issues that plague St. Louis due to the fact that we allow morons to drive.
To no one's surprise, after a day of half the people trying to obey the signs calling for 40 mph on the highway because traffic was fucked while the other half was whipping around them doing about 70 and then slamming on their brakes (usually) stopping just before they hit the guys in front of them who were at a standstill, generally no one paid any attention to the signs at all, and just went on doing the things that they were doing before.
I think the biggest problem that they had though was that they didn't take the signs below 40. There were times that in order to actually have fixed the traffic, they should have had people going 5 miles an hour. At least that would be a better indicator that it's just time to turn around and try again later.
Don't blame me, I voted for moose wang!
(Score: 5, Interesting) by Phoenix666 on Tuesday December 02 2014, @03:20PM
I liked "reasonable and prudent," myself. If I was doing a flat, straight stretch between Lewistown and Great Falls, I opened it up. Going up the Swan to the Flathead valley, I slowed down. You drove the speed that made sense. Of course, you never really got to go very fast for very long because there are just too darn many motor homes and semis on the road in Montana. The biggest benefit I saw was the absence of stress from having to look over your shoulder for the highway patrol.
Out-of-staters driving too fast on winter roads, especially when they're used to the salted roads back East, do present a hazard to Western drivers who know that sort of thing is suicidal. But in the end those people tend to stick to the Interstate, which can more or less handle those speeds, or they Darwin award themselves out of our company on the smaller roads. It kind of reminds me of the Canadian biker who took a thousand-foot header off Going-to-the-Sun highway in Glacier National Park in the 80's. He was drunk and going 65mph on a road that's iffy at 25. No one else hurt. Gene pool improved.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2) by q.kontinuum on Tuesday December 02 2014, @02:40PM
It's entirely a matter of driving conditions. If the road is straight and empty and the engine powerful enough, anyone reaching the gas pedal can drive fast. If the road is curved and icy, no-one can. in between there are several combinations of skill levels and advisable speeds.
Registered IRC nick on chat.soylentnews.org: qkontinuum
(Score: 1) by zzw30 on Tuesday December 02 2014, @05:03PM
Hi, Californian here.
Try driving down 5 or across 80 before claiming that Californians would roll their car at 85mph. Flow of traffic on both of those is typically 80mph unless conditions warrant elsewise. Many of us also grew up with snow, in spite of the stereotype being that we're all beach bums from LA or San Diego.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 02 2014, @05:39PM
Un-possible. Everyone in CA that wasnt a bum moved north at some point between 1980 and 2000. Those of you still there are bumbs, by definition.
(Score: 1) by Ethanol-fueled on Tuesday December 02 2014, @08:22PM
Californian here.
Every Californian knows that the greatest local threat to motorists is Asian women behind the wheel. They tend to congregate in Orange county, Silicon Valley, and wherever A UC campus is located. They can often be spotted due to the pink "Pinay Pride" or "Exotic Princess" stickers on the backs of their Honda civics, driving 40 mph in the fast-lane and not signaling or even checking before doing fucking anything, as if they were the only drivers on the road.
Being serious, as somebody who makes a lot of racial jokes, this is the only stereotype I have encountered that is infallibly true.