Texas Has First 80 MPH Speed Limit

In some of the more remote areas of Texas, drivers can now move along at 80 mph and be perfectly legal:

Last week, state highway officials in Fort Stockton unveiled the first 80-mph speed limit sign -- reportedly the fastest posted speed limit in the nation.

Rep. Pete Gallego, who represents a district bigger than Connecticut, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Rhode Island combined and sponsored the bill, said it will only add to the comfort of drivers who travel the desolate highway.

"Probably the only difference might be that police write fewer speeding tickets," he said.

Of course, the usual nanny-staters are not happy:

Some safety officials and energy conservationists predict the additional speed allowance can mean nothing but more fatal accidents.

"People don't survive crashes at that speed," said Tom Smith, director of the Texas office for Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy organization.

"This will result in more deaths," said Russ Rader, spokesman for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. "You get somewhere faster, but at what cost?"

Mr. Gallego said Texas Department of Transportation specialists had studied the situation and found that in the three years since the speed limit in that area was increased from 70 to 75 mph, the number of fatalities had actually dropped.

If you want to know how well an 80 mph speed limit works, just drive I-5 between San Clemente and Oceanside. I drive it several times a week and if you're going 80, you'll probably get run over by all the folks going faster.