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Thanks, Mormons! Utah Says 80-MPH Limit Is Safe

 
3 2,917 views October 27, 2009

Utah highway

Utah highway

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Can it be true? Speeding doesn't kill?

Don't ask us--ask the Mormons. The state of Utah's Department of Transportation reports that a new 80-mph speed limit led to no increase in speeding on some stretches of Beehive State interstate.

The Deseret News reports that on two segments of Interstate 15, the Utah DOT has found drivers have largely maintained the same speeds they drove, even though the limits on the highways rose from 75 mph to 80 mph.

The state's DOT took advantage of a new law from 2008 that allows it to lift speed limits in low-population areas. The two stretches of highway are in the sparsely populated southern half of Utah.

According to Utah DOT deputy director Carlos Braceras, under the 75-mph speed limit, 85 percent of drivers averaged between 81 mph and 85 mph. With the new 80-mph limit, the DOT observed that 85 percent of drivers stayed between 83 mph and 85 mph. So while the state has raised some limits, it hasn't seen an increase in speeding over 85 mph. It also hasn't seen an increase in car accidents, the paper adds.

However, the DOT has noted wider ranges of speeds driven--a higher differential--that could cause more accidents in some circumstances. The DOT also hasn't measured if speeds increase on stretches of highway still marked 75 mph.

Utah and Texas are the only U.S. states with speed limits as high as 80 mph. Until the 1990s, the state of Montana had no speed limit, Autoblog reminds us--only a "reasonable and prudent" law that allowed some amazing eight-hour cross-state runs in a BMW M3 by...um...some people we'd rather not mention until the warrants expire.

[Deseret News via Autoblog]





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Comments (3)

  1. By Michael Schumacher Posted: 10/28/2009 2:41am PDT

    80 mph is lame, many countries in the EU have those speed limits everywhere.
    In Italy for instance 80 is the limit with some exceptions of 93 in three lane highways.
    In Germany not all but some highways have no limit and there aren't any more accidents on the limitless autobahns than on other roads. And you'd be surprised to see that almost no one goes as fast as possible, most cars will go around 70-80 mph. You will, however, occasionally see some people tearing up the road on a Porsche or a fancy German car but only on rather empty highways.
     
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  2. By falcodore Posted: 11/7/2009 3:06pm PST

    The Stuart Hwy in the Northern Territory of Australia didnt have a speed limit until about 2 years ago, now its got a limit of 130kph (about 80mph). Police are now saying they see more accidents due to driver fatigue.
    The raods of Australia are under-limited and over-policed, and speed cameras everywhere, especially in Victoria.
     
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  3. By  autism Posted: 11/29/2009 1:35am PST

    Yea! Utah Highway Patrol. How many lives are saved when one trooper arrests one drunk driver? Who knows, but I got home safe last night. Thank you, troopers.
     
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