Michigan to Increase Speed Limits "because drivers already travel faster than the current limits."

[csv8]

MICHIGAN, the home of the US car industry, will increase speed limits on 2400km of roads next month because drivers already travel faster than the current limits.
The Detroit Free Press reported overnight that almost 1000km of the state’s rural roads would bump the speed limit from 70 mph to 75 mph – the Aussie equivalent of ditching 110km/h in favour of 120km/h – while a further 1400km would have its speed limits raised from the equivalent of 90km/h to 105km/h.
The first of the speed sign changes will start to roll out in mid May.

According to the Detroit Free Press, the changes were introduced after the state's government asked police and the Michigan transportation department to consider raising speed limits.
The department said it had been asked to increase speed limits on some state highways and freeways "based on 85th-percentile speeds (the speed at or below which 85 percent of traffic is moving) and the results of engineering and safety studies".
"The corridors identified by MDOT (Michigan Department of Transportation) and MSP (Michigan State Police) were selected not only because studies indicated most drivers were already driving at those increased speeds, but also because their design and safety features were best suited to these speed limits," state transportation director Kirk Steudle said.
"We reviewed design speeds, crash patterns, number of access points, traffic volumes and continuity of these corridors, and chose them to minimise necessary improvements for higher speed limits."


The move is in stark contrast to Australia, where a crackdown on speed has resulted in the end of a five-year trial of open speed limits along a 300km section of the Stuart Highway in the Northern Territory. The trial was abruptly ended after a new chief minister who lobbied against the trial while in opposition was elected last year to head up the territory government. The move angered carmakers who could use the territory's roads for high-speed testing and big-budget advertising campaigns during the Northern Hemisphere winter.
Speed remains a contentious issue in Australia, with a lack of road maintenance contributing to an increasing roll-out of lower speed limits as road surfaces deteriorate.
Senator David*Leyonhjelm has proposed a similar review of speed limits in Australia, suggesting we should also set limits that reflected the 85th percentile*– the pace at which most motorists naturally drive at.
"The people who currently set them [speed limits] are anonymous, unaccountable bureaucrats. Perhaps the most powerful people in Australia, they essentially decide how many people should die on our roads," he told a Senate inquiry into road safety.
"Governments and ministers come and go, but they and their speed limits are always there. This is massive bureaucratic overreach."
In Victoria, last year*Liberal MP for Benambra, Bill Tilley called for an inquiry into raising speed limits on certain highways in Victoria, and in particular a shift from 110km/h to 130km/h on the Hume Highway, and 100km/h to 110km/h on the Princes Highway between Geelong and Melbourne.
Wheels has been a long-time supporter of raising speed limits in Australia. In 2013, we drove from Melbourne to Sydney at 130km/h*–*20km/h above the posted speed limit*– in a demonstration that it could be done safely and comfortably.
Mercedes-Benz, which is using Australia's roads network as a test bed for its autonomous car technology, has flagged its Hume Highway-friendly self-driving systems will work best at speeds of up to 130km/h." http://www.msn.com/en-au/motoring/ne...cid=spartandhp

[GASWAGON]

Its about time.

We now have all this modern safety technology we pay top dollar for, high output and efficient engines and brakes that stop on a dime.

Mind you some of the smaller capacity cars would have trouble doing these speeds.

[Blue Roo]

Finally! A Government Department with some common sense!

[xr6turboford]

Originally Posted by CoolBFWagon

Its about time.

We now have all this modern safety technology we pay top dollar for, high output and efficient engines and brakes that stop on a dime.

Mind you some of the smaller capacity cars would have trouble doing these speeds.

My 1lt 3 cylinder Ford Fiesta can sit on 130km very comfortably but then again it is a Ford.

[malazn mafia]

The problem with Australia is we are sheep and follow the limits or keep under them. All good in urban situations, but I really can't comprehend those drivers doing 105kph from sydney to melbourne. If everybody disregarded 110kph limits, the cops wouldn't know who to fine anymore. Seems to happen up the M1 Central Coast with convoys of cars pushing 120 to 130 and Mr Plod not being able to do anything because nobody is obeying the limit. Almost everywhere else in the country, especially Victoria, it's the fact that people are actually doing 100/110 that anyone who dares to exceed it even by a small margin gets targeted

[Peter B - CV8]

Originally Posted by malazn mafia

The problem with Australia is we are sheep and follow the limits or keep under them. All good in urban situations, but I really can't comprehend those drivers doing 105kph from sydney to melbourne. If everybody disregarded 110kph limits, the cops wouldn't know who to fine anymore. Seems to happen up the M1 Central Coast with convoys of cars pushing 120 to 130 and Mr Plod not being able to do anything because nobody is obeying the limit. Almost everywhere else in the country, especially Victoria, it's the fact that people are actually doing 100/110 that anyone who dares to exceed it even by a small margin gets targeted

Cameras would get them all.....

[Pedro]

Speed limits in Australia are deliberately kept low by fiscally inept governments as they seek to increase revenue to fund their out of control spending. Their constant false defence of "speed cameras" is nauseating.

[chevypower]

I think 130km/h is a good speed for interstate highway travel. It keeps you alert and moving quickly, but not to the point where it is stupidly dangerous or kills your fuel economy.