Posted on 05/25/2006 4:27:13 PM PDT by Lunatic Fringe
AUSTIN – Yeehaw! Texans who brag they do things bigger and better are about to go faster too.
State transportation officials on Thursday boosted speed limits on two stretches of rural highway from 75 mph to 80, leaving wandering armadillos and feral hogs a split-second less time to avoid becoming roadkill.
It will be the highest posted speed limit in the country. New speed signs should be up in the next few days.
And while state officials say the roads can accommodate it, safety and energy conservation advocates warn it will cost lives and hit drivers in the wallet at a time of spiking fuel prices.
(Excerpt) Read more at dallasnews.com ...
Yeehaw back to ya! Just in time for summer vacation!!!
Does this mean we can go 89 now?
You are correct!
I guess these hogs are REAL road hogs.
the biggest problem with this - tires. alot of people drive around with inferior tires, run to over 80MPH in that heat, there are going to be alot of blowouts and high speed crashes.
Or even 60.
Hillsborough. I hate going through there!
Leprosy in wild armadillos.
Truman R.
National Hansen's Disease Program, DHHS/HRSA/BPHC, LSU-SVM, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70803, USA. rtrumal@lsu.edu
Wild nine-banded armadillos (Dasypus novemcinctus) in the south central United States are highly endemic natural hosts of Mycobacterium leprae. Surveys conducted over the last 30 years on more than 5000 animals confirm that the infection is present among armadillos in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Highest prevalence rates are found among the animals in low-lying alluvial and coastal areas, primarily in Louisiana and Texas.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=16248207&dopt=Abstract
I've been driving around rural west Texas the past couple weeks and have not seen one armadillo or feral hog on the roads... But I did hit a patch of little prairie dogs crossing the road.
POOOMPP them UUPPPPPP. A little "overinflation" never hurts in those conditions.
Mine are rated for 130+ MPH. :-)
Is the speed limit for Democrat legislators fleeing the state to avoid a quorum is still 120?
Ya, and if Hillary has her way speed limits will go back to 55mph nationwide to conserve gas.
It will be tough on the Jackalopes too.
Now they're going to have to make up a new law in order to gain back the lost revenue from speeding tickets.
Well that's just dumb. Lower speed limits in cities means more congestion, and that means more gas consumption.
145.
"Holy HECK!" This is not a ticket, it is jail time.
So I slowed down to 80, and put it on cruise control. I felt like I was CRAWLING...lol hard to judge speed in a desert.
But, but, but... Hillary 'I am the new Jimmah Carter' Clinton says the speed limits should be reduced to 55 mph to save fuel.
I saw a huge jackalope today. He was a 6-point and must have stood 4 feet tall.
Just in time to turn loose the Mini Cooper 2 weeks from tomorrow. Got to drive from Cal to Kerrville and I'll crank it up as I pass thru El Paso.
Paging the Dillo Wreckers
I did that once (take 281). It was OK, just more small towns to slow down for. I think I'll have to try it again.
I have been driving 80 since they raised the speed limit to 65. I think my vehicle would throw a rod if I pushed it any further!
Heck I work and drive in the Southern Ohio area and everybody drives 80 around here all the time.
OK now. My BS meter is going redline. Just WHAT were you driving that does 145?
Well, the logic behind this was that TX DOT determined that 85% of drivers were doing 80 MPH, so hey let's raise the limit to 80.
Do they not understand that most people on the highway do about 10 MPH over the speed limit?
Armadillos don't pose much of a problem but hitting a feral hog at eighty could be a disaster on both sides of the bumper.
PING.... and watch out for slow armadillos.
Last time I was down there I only saw them driving 80 mph twice. Once going up through it, once when they were braking back down to exit.
You must have had a really old car, or else a digital spedometer if it went up to 145.
FWIW, my '92 SVX dials up to 160. The car only tops out at 145 on the books but I've never had it close to that. Officer.
A superbowl Mustang.
I know, that's a frustrating stretch of highway!! One is lucky to drive up to the speed limit.
Maybe Patton was looking at KPH instead of MPH.
I remember when Texas and Nevada had no speed limits and no more accidents then the rest of the country. It really pi**ed me off when they cut the speed limit down it the 70s and I had to drive across Texas at 90 and keep one eye out of the cops!
2005 mustang.
Crossin' the highway late last night,
He shoulda looked left and he shoulda looked right,
He didn't see the station wagon, car,
The skunk got squashed and there you are!
(Chorus)
You got yer
Dead skunk in the middle of the road,
Dead skunk in the middle of the road,
Dead skunk in the middle of the road,
Stinkin' to high heaven!
Take a whiff on me that ain't no rose!
Roll up yer window and hold yer nose,
You don't have to look and you don't have to see,
'Cause you can feel it in your olfactory,
(Repeat Chorus)
Yeah you got yer dead cat and you got yer dead dog,
On a moonlight night you got yer dead toad frog
Got yer dead rabbit and yer dead raccoon,
The blood and the guts they're gonna make you swoon!
You got yer dead skunk, in the middle,
Dead skunk in the middle of the road.
Dead skunk in the middle of the road,
Stinkin' to high heaven.
C'mon stink!
(Fiddle break)
You got it,
It's dead, it's in the middle,
Dead skunk in the middle!
Dead skunk in the middle of the road,
Stinkin' to high heaven!
All over the road, technicolor man!
Oh, you got pollution.
It's dead, it's in the middle,
And it's stinkin' to high, high heaven!
(Fiddle fadeout)
Eaker always drove 85 there anyways.
nope.
LOL, that pics a keeper!
Enjoy the trip!! Even 80 across West Texas is too slow...
Just WHAT were you driving that does 145?
Yeah, and if it's one of them thar expensive foreign jobs, how much do you earn and are you single (I have a daughter...)
We don't have armadillos to concern ourselves with. We do have deer every mile or so to contend with.
I had a chance yesterday - at auction - to buy a 2003 Mustang GT - 5 speed - yellow convertible
With only 21,000 miles.
It sold for $17,400
Shoulda bought it.
I can handle idiot dillos who commit suicide by jumping up into your car, but not feral hogs. Hitting one of those is like bashing into the side of a house.
BTW, doesn't everyone drive 80 minimum out in West Texas anyway?
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