Ohio's Speed Limit Raised to 70 MPH

[Analogue Kid]

Fully support 70 mph. We’re surrounded on all sides (except PA) by states with 70 mph limits. Ohio actually had a 70 mph limit prior to 1974, when the national maximum speed limit law went into effect. Interstate highways are almost universally designed for a 70 mph speed as well.

One caveat is I’d rather not see 70 mph within the outer belt and in similar locations in other Ohio cities. Just on the rural stretches.

[Alex Silbajoris]

55 mph is unsafe.

[GCrites80s]

CooperGuy said:
Yes. But only if they up the minimum legal speed by the same.

70 is a harder speed for old people and jalopies to maintain, so instituting a minimum speed law will push these drivers to the paralleling U.S. routes and out of the way of those in a hurry. The only issue for them is when the Interstate replaced the old alignment of the U.S. route or the U.S. route was abandoned when it was multiplexed with the Interstate.

[Alex Silbajoris]

Actually, taking the old routes can be sweet sometimes. More than once I’ve dodged huge backups on I-70 in Ohio and Indiana by jumping over to Rt. 40. Plus if you’re not in a hurry you can check out the towns as you pass through – you tend to get a lot of county seats so you can review a lot of courthouses.

Once in a while you get a wide open stretch where you can open it up if you want. Rt. 42 outside of West Jefferson is like that, very open and empty.

[GCrites80s]

Indeed, it’s way more fun to take the older routes if you’ve got the time.

[CooperGuy]

GCrites80s said:
70 is a harder speed for old people and jalopies to maintain, so instituting a minimum speed law will push these drivers to the paralleling U.S. routes and out of the way of those in a hurry. The only issue for them is when the Interstate replaced the old alignment of the U.S. route or the U.S. route was abandoned when it was multiplexed with the Interstate.

They wouldn’t have to maintain the maximum speed, just the minimum. (I think some states are at 45-50mph minimums on 70mph maximum freeways) If a driver or their jalopy can’t maintain at least 45-50 mph on an open freeway, they have no business on that roadway to begin with. They should be pushed to alternative roadways that aren’t meant for express travel, even if it adds time/miles to their trip.

At the right time & place I love to go fast and push the limits as much as anybody, and have access to some very capable vehicles, but I don’t advocate or practice excessive speed on any public roadways. Laws that represent the 85th percentile of actual travel speeds are safer overall and make sense. From a safety perspective, a 70mph max along with a 50mph min would be reasonable for today’s highway and vehicle standards.

[GCrites80s]

I remember when there was a 40 minimum sign right before the stoplight on 33 just south of 70 on the SE side. That was a strange place to have one.

[hugh59]

300,000 kilometers per second; it’s not just a good idea; it’s the law.

[Yeti22]

Walker said:
So which comes first then… the chicken or the egg?

Egg. Change the culture. More education. More restrictions. I think that sounds unAmerica of me, but I really believe the German system is better and more fun. From my egineering standpoint if there is a better system existing, copy it and then look for improvements.

[Walker Evans]

Yeti22 said:
Egg. Change the culture. More education. More restrictions. I think that sounds unAmerica of me, but I really believe the German system is better and more fun. From my egineering standpoint if there is a better system existing, copy it and then look for improvements.

That’s not really what I meant… I’m asking if the German culture exists the way it does because the Autobahn has always existed for most drivers and therefore education reflect that, or was there some sort of long-term educational plan in place prior to the opening of the Autobahn?

Probably the quickest way to change the driving culture in America is to raise gas taxes to be the equivalent of Germany’s ($5.50 a gallon?) and we’d see people think of driving as more of a privilege and less of a “right”.

[CooperGuy]

Looks like a 70 mph speed limit may happen, left lane passing only won’t:

————

70-mph limit gains speed at Statehouse
By Jim Siegel
The Columbus Dispatch
Wednesday February 15, 2012 11:56 PM

Interstate speed limits in Ohio would increase to 70 mph under a bill that a House committee passed tonight with bipartisan support. But part of the bill that would have limited the use of the left-hand lanes to drivers exiting or passing slower vehicles was stripped out of the bill before passage. The State Highway Patrol had expressed concern about how that provision would be enforced.

READ MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/02/15/70-mph-limit-gains-speed-at-statehouse.html

[GCrites80s]

Really? Why doesn’t the Highway Patrol ask all the other states that have the law how they enforce it?

[Analogue Kid]

GCrites80s said:
Really? Why doesn’t the Highway Patrol ask all the other states that have the law how they enforce it?

If we didn’t invent it ourselves, it must not be any good.

[CooperGuy]

GCrites80s said:
Really? Why doesn’t the Highway Patrol ask all the other states that have the law how they enforce it?

Excellent question!

[Brian J. Robinson]

I definitely think the speed limit should be 70. I lived in Florida for the past year. Driving to and from Ohio I believe that OH is the only State that you cannot do 70 taking I-75 and I-77. Even Virginia lets you do 70 through those whinding mountains. After traveling saftely at 70 MPH through 5 or 6 states, you definitely feel how slow 65 is once you hit Ohio. 70 MPH should definitely happen…

[Author]

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