Speed limits going up on Texas highways

AUSTIN, Texas, Dec. 19 (UPI) -- Texas is increasing speed limits on highways throughout the state, but transportation officials say actual driver speeds won't change much.

The new speed limits, now up to 75 mph in some areas, are part of a studies to identify the "85th percentile" speed, the Austin American-Statesman reported Monday. That means for every 100 passing cars, 85 are at or below the posted speed limit.

The program is set to cost TxDOT $7.5 million.

TxDOT officials said actual highway speeds won't increase because drivers tend to stay at a sensible pace based on the lay of the land.

"There's a point where people say, 'This is fast enough. I don't feel comfortable doing that,'" said Carol Rawson, director of TxDOT's Traffic Operations Division. "It's always safer to post it at the speed people are actually going."

However, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety said its studies show, more often than not, driving speeds vary based on what is posted.

"With each increase, we see that travel speeds do come up, and, in fact, traffic accidents and traffic fatalities do go up," said Adrian Lund, the insurance institute's president and a research psychologist by training. "This is just physics. When you're going faster and anything happens that is a surprise, you have less time to take evasive action. So you're more likely to have a crash.

"And if you do get into a crash, there's going to be more energy, and that causes more damage to vehicles and to the people involved."

Nonetheless, between now and January 2013, up to 50,000 miles of highway in Texas with have increased speed limits.