Texas 85mph limit

pity you don't have a car that could take advantage of that.

 

and?

 

Maybe they actually have a brain in Texas USA and realize all cars are safer better handling brakes airbags etc etc and maybe they realize it is boredom that kills not speed, maybe they have good highways and not potholed tracks like we have. Our speed limits on good country roads are ridiculous 110 kph on a straight wide road where you can see 2km ahead is just dumb.

 

Sorry .......no......

The typical speed limit sign on our Interstate highways is 70MPH, then drops to 65MPH statewide at night....in town as Houston it's 60MPH max, on the "loops", then lower as dictated by density of population.

That said, between El Paso and San Antonio one night, I wound it up to cruise 120MPH inthe dark and no one there seemed to care much...come to think of it there WAS no one there!

 

We do have good highways though, witness major new slabs of double divided Pac Hwy, and the long stretches of Hume.

They could all do with raising from 110 to 130.. but you and I know both know it'll never happen.

My recent blasts on Autostrada with 130 limit.. and 150 actual shows even with just 2 lanes the trucks were disciplined and everyone just got along just fine.

We need a different driving culture but again thats in the "it'll never happen" basket, witness our dumbed down licence test standards to match the dumbed down law enforcement lowest common denominator approach that is so prevalent.

Be careful of describing some roads as "potholed tracks" though, otherwise you WILL get the low limit you wished for..

 

Driving on the Hume and the Pacific Highway over summer, I noticed that they aren't freeways as I know them because they have turnaround points and junctions on them. That will stop them getting their speed limits raised with the volumes they carry. I thought they were unsafe in places at 110 km/h. The truth is our small population means we can't afford the best road designs and therefore we'll never have higher limits.

 

I've done Scottsdale to Flagstaff several times sitting at times on 170kph mile after mile.

 

Sadly you're quite right, the cost of doing road our insane distances for so few people will never be viable.

Also local limits here are all over the shop.. some rated 100 you'd never do, bumpy surface, windy and twisty you'd rarely have enough sight to cope with horse floats and whatever coming on from some side road..

Other roads that you CAN do 100 easily on are now set back to 90 and 80 wholesale due to the once-a-year-idiot that falls off just 1 notorious set of bends, but rest is plain sailing but all dumbed down to worst idiot level.. sigh. Oh did I mention now zealously patrolled by nazis? The stories I'm getting told.. sheesh.. they've hired some apes and given them a badge lol. I'll support the good ones 100%, but they are pretty hard to find.

Best off heading WELL away from civilisation for most sensible driving these days, and head to Europe every now and then to do some sustained decent legal driving as well.

 

I saw some shocking behaviour by the highway patrol on the Hume - unsafe and aggressive "pursuit" driving. The cops here don't behave like that.

 

Yeah but in Italy/Germany/Most of Europe if you are doing 150mph and you see someone behind you is doing 200mph you will pull over to let them pass. This doesn't happen in Australia because the average Australian driver is a ****.

 

Fixed.

 

you are 100% correct. I don't see how speed limits can be raised with the sort of driving we see here. driver education is still close to zero.

 

Worst case I ever had was in 80's when, to pull me up on my Ducati for doing a shocking 70 in 60 he came through dog leg T intersection at such speed he got it all locked up and ended up at 45 deg to curb forcing me hit front brakes to stop with him blocking the lane..

Lucky no-one coming from either side, he would have cleaned them up.. lucky I have good front brakes..

Just like a bad cop/western he came out with the leather cap, mirror sunglasses and "attitude".. the cliche lot.. and proceeded to write me up.. WTF

He was on his own and I think just got his "V8 rating" and was strutting his stuff.. this area of Police unfortunately (sometimes) attracts the very wrong type of person there for all the wrong reasons and they somehow(!) make it through screening..

Wish onboard video existed back then coz I'd take it straight to magistrate where no "your word against mine" thing by the uniformed baboon in question would stick.

 

better than a mile a minute