Texas could accelerate to 80 mph

The nation’s top legal driving speed soon could rise to a long-forbidden 80 mph as Texas moves toward increasing the limit on parts of two interstate highways.

The proposed increase on Interstates 10 and 20 in West Texas is opposed by some national traffic safety advocates, who say speed contributes to many crashes.

“That’s not good news for safety,” says Richard Retting, senior transportation engineer at the Insurance
Institute for Highway Safety, an industry group. “When states raise speed limits, they’re trading lives for faster travel times.”

But a study by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) found that 85% of drivers on the affected highways already drive 76-79 mph, says Carlos Lopez, the agency’s traffic operations chief.

USA Today