Is the American autobahn finally here?
Not quite, but it's getting closer. The signs on a newly opened
Texas toll road read 85 mph, the highest posted speed limit in the
nation.
The 41-mile stretch on the way from Austin to San Antonio breaks
new ground in other ways as well, allowing a private company to
charge drivers desperate to avoid the gridlock on nearby Interstate
35.
Since November, one fatality has been recorded on State Highway
130 and isn't believed to be speed-related. One driver has hit a
deer. And two have hit feral hogs. (
You're covered
for either if you have comprehensive insurance.)
Safety experts and consumer advocates have expressed concern
about the new speed limit and question the motives. Under a
contract with Concession Co., which will operate the road, Texas
will receive a one-time payment of $100 million for setting the
limit at 85 mph. The payment would drop to $67 million if the limit
were a mere 80 mph.
The limit on a parallel, non-toll road was reduced from 65 mph
to 55 mph.
Is a speeding ticket for 93 mph a big deal?
So when you get pulled over on State Highway 130, are you simply
another driver doing a few mph over the limit, or a speed demon
crowding 100?
Luckily for the lead-footed, almost all states and counties
assess fines by mph over the limit, not by absolute speed. Fines
vary; for example, 95 mph around Austin will cost $194, not
including fees and court costs.
In some states, reckless driving is an absolute threshold. For
example, Virginia makes 80 mph an automatic reckless driving
ticket. Texas leaves the distinction between speeding and
recklessness to the discretion of the Trooper.
Speed matters at car insurance renewal time, too.
Car insurance companies look at how far you were over the line.
Guidelines vary, but a ticket less than 5 mph over the limit will
typically be treated differently than a ticket where you were going
20 mph over the limit, says CarInsurance.com consumer analyst Penny
Gusner.
A reckless driving charge will drive your
rates up dramatically
.
And speeds over 80 mph will hurt your chances for a usage-based
discount.
Pay-as-you-drive programs
vary dramatically, with most emphasizing low miles and safe driving
hours, but State Farm includes incidents exceeding 80 mph in its
calculations of your discount.
Safety experts are divided
Is 85 mph safe? It depends on who you ask.
Speed limits have been
increasing across the country
since federal controls were repealed in 1995. Currently 35 states
allow top speeds of at least 70 mph.
Not surprisingly the Texas Department of Transportation is
confident that 85 mph is a safe speed. Kelli Reyna, spokesperson
for TxDOT, says "It is important to remember these segments of
roadway were designed and tested for high-speed travel. Safety is
our top priority and tests have shown the designated speed is a
safe one."
Safety and insurance experts feel 85 mph is just too high, that
drivers who habitually exceed the speed limit would be traveling
close to 100 mph.
"People tend to drive at a speed which they feel safe and
comfortable," says John Bowman, spokesperson for the National
Motorists Association. He points to Interstate 15 in Utah, where
the speed limit was raised to 80 mph in two test sections three
years ago. Studies found that average speeds increased only from 83
to 85 mph. Accidents decreased 11 percent in one test area and a
whopping 20 percent in the other, Bowman says.
Kara Macek, spokesperson with Governors Highway Safety
Association (GHSA), points out that while a higher speed limit may
not result in more crashes, it is bound to end in more fatalities.
"From a standpoint of pure physics, the faster you are traveling,
the less likely you will be to survive a crash," she says."
A GHSA report released in March concluded that speed continues
to be a big factor in traffic deaths. In 2010, a total of 10,530
people were killed in speed related accidents, almost a third of
all traffic deaths. The GHSA found that since 2000, the share of
traffic fatalities linked to speeding has increased by 7
percent.