Utah Trialling 80mph ! 80mph!!!

[csv8]

I am in Salt Lake City, before flying to Toronto. Driving from Vegas to Salt Lake City , there are sections of the I89 that are trialling 80mph !!! Impala liked it and so did I !! The difference is the roads are so superior to ours. Especially the goat track called the Bruce Highway. and no hidden speed cameras on those sections ,just Highway Patrol which you can see. Our Government needs to learn from American cousins how to build roads and control speeding. At 80mph, trip computer showed the Impala was doing 22.7mpg!!!

[EASYBOSS]

Yep, have to 100% agree with you. The interstate road system is briliant. I have clocked up over 10,000 miles on my US GPS over the past three years, you should be fine setting your cruise control at 83 in the 80 zones. I word of warning, just dont go over the limit in any road work zones, in some states its a massive fine, I think it was like 20K and a years time locked up

[MurdoK]

Geez that would be nice.

As said, our roads are terrible. Some of our country roads in W.A where the speed limit is 110km/h can be hairy with the yips and deep ruts.

Would be nice to have the population to pay for those types of roads...then again...

[Jim Goose]

Arent the freeways in the USA mostly built over the top of a concrete surface?

I noticed years ago sections of the new highway before the sunshine coast was concreted then had bitumen over the top. This is why the roads last for so long (yes its expensive but if they last twice or three times the amount, then its a saving overall).

The 110kmh sections we have around these areas are actually pretty good normally and well maintained.

Its a pity the money isnt spent to make our highways 1st class (outside the Brissy area i mean)

[wrongwaynorris]

The M1 ( and for that matter most of Britains A roads ) are , in sections depending on the sub strata , up to three feet thick with various media used for stabilisation and drainage . And they have to also cope with frost shattering aswell . I dont think Iv'e seen a road in Australia that would even be 12 inches thick . I remember well my fathers horror the first time we drove to Melbourne from Sydney on the Hume Highway which was in 1969 a 2 lane goat track which would not have even rated as a D road in the UK .

[UKXR8]

Quite enjoyed taking the old Mondeo up to 120mph on the German Autobahns 2 weeks ago...
Actually the palms got a bit sweaty after a while, too much thinking required! 100 was much more civilised.
Good on Utah for getting with the times though

[wrongwaynorris]

Originally Posted by UKXR8

Quite enjoyed taking the old Mondeo up to 120mph on the German Autobahns 2 weeks ago...
Actually the palms got a bit sweaty after a while, too much thinking required! 100 was much more civilised.
Good on Utah for getting with the times though

Last time I was in Germany we had a rented diesel mondeo wagon which we got up to and maintained 210 KPH on the Autobahn sections that allowed it between Hannover and Hamburg , great fun .

[flappist]

We nearly had a yank style freeway between Cairns and Sydney via Brisbane built here in the late 1940s by USA as a thank you for out help in WW2.

This would have given QLD & NSW a massive kick start and the subsequent development may have change the face of Australia with large cities and commerce locating into the northern half.

Unfortunately the federal government knocked it back, which seems crazy until you look back and see in what part of Australia the home electorates of the controlling faction of the government were located.

[banarcus]

Originally Posted by flappist

We nearly had a yank style freeway between Cairns and Sydney via Brisbane built here in the late 1940s by USA as a thank you for out help in WW2.

This would have given QLD & NSW a massive kick start and the subsequent development may have change the face of Australia with large cities and commerce locating into the northern half.

Unfortunately the federal government knocked it back, which seems crazy until you look back and see in what part of Australia the home electorates of the controlling faction of the government were located.

So true flappist.

[csv8]

EASYBOSS... the roadwork fines in UTAH are double..I did set the cruise control on 85mph and the Highway Patrol ignored me!! Here..would have given chase!!!

[EASYBOSS]

Originally Posted by csv8

EASYBOSS... the roadwork fines in UTAH are double..I did set the cruise control on 85mph and the Highway Patrol ignored me!! Here..would have given chase!!!

Yea 85 is cool and what I normally sit on, I did not want to mislead you, as many other have said, you can not just go over the limit to much, so dont get mislead, I work with a lot of US guys, they know. Having said this, it is pretty cool crusing past a state troper on the side of the road doing 85.

The double fines in work zones, I think thats standard in all states, from memory the huge fines were in Illinois.

Have fun, and next time get a Camaro or mustang, not an Impala, the Impala name just does not suit the the currect model, bit like mustanges in the 90's

[mik]

that`s a good cruising speed, i reckon even 90 mph is pretty comfortable cruising speed on a long run, good on them for trialing it.

[warpsp33d]

Originally Posted by mik

that`s a good cruising speed, i reckon even 90 mph is pretty comfortable cruising speed on a long run, good on them for trialing it.

I was cruising with other traffic down hill into LA last year in a shiny new Ford Edge SUV Limited (rental that only had 1000 miles on the clock). We were all doing 90-95mph. Sat on 75 most of the way from Vegas. It was awesome.

[BrisVegas]

I lived over there for 4 years and had a 2 week holiday in Arizona, Utah, Colorado and Nevada. 85mph is about the minimum speed you would find cars cruising at. It really is quite comfortable and safe in modern cars.

I lived in Charlotte, NC and have driven from Key West to Canada on interstates and they're an incredible road system. From Charlotte, you'd think nothing of driving 200 miles to Charleston, SC or Savannah, GA and you'd count on averaging 70mph. I-85 went through Charlotte from Atlanta up to Virginia etc.. I used to joke that it was 85mph limit, as you'd cause traffic jams if you went any slower than 85! In four years there I only had 1 speeding ticket and that was in a 35 zone I missed the sign for.

[JR.]

First time I got a hire car in the US a few years back to do a drive myself holiday I was amazed at their Highway Patrol's laid back attitude to speeding compared to ours. Driving from LA to Vegas the Highway was posted at 70mph and the traffic was cruising at close to 90mph and faster in the overtaking lane while CHP & NHP sat at the side of the road and didn't even blink.

[phillyc]

I've always thought 130kmh is a good speed for covering distance quickly, provide enjoyment and with enough concentration required to actually focus on driving but not an extreme speed that the masses couldn't handle it.

In the NT i was able to cover the 250km between Darwin and Kakadu with a rest stop in a shade over 2hrs. Made for enjoyable driving.

80mph = 129kmh

[Mr Hardware]

got a source/reference/citation flappist?

[bungarra]

Originally Posted by Mr Hardware

got a source/reference/citation flappist?

When I was doing some research on WW2 for Uni, there was a file in the Archives (will try to find a copy/regerence number) for projects the US offered or were looking at.

One was the project Flappist mentioned, which was meant to be part of a cold war strategic roads project for fast ovement of armour and troops. was also to link to Aice Springs with network roads to all states.

Most of the project was dropped when the yanks decided to maintain the Phillipines and Thailand as the SE Asia main force areas.

Still a good idea, having good quality high speed rads linking all atate capitals. I would love to go Perth to Brisbane dtraight through the centre of Australia at 130km/h.

[Ben73]

A large country with decent roads trials a reasonable speed, great news. Now if other places could catch on.

Anyone know what the road between LA and LV is like?
Good quality? Speed limit? Traffic levels?

[blk6t]

Originally Posted by Ben73

A large country with decent roads trials a reasonable speed, great news. Now if other places could catch on.

Anyone know what the road between LA and LV is like?
Good quality? Speed limit? Traffic levels?

I have done that run several times in a Mustang, its a great drive. The road is top quality with dedicated truck lanes in certian sections to keep the other lanes for cars only. We were speeding most of the way but in doing so were keeping up with the general traffic flow. The cops did nothing.

Although your staring at miles and miles of desert, great scenery and then smack...Las Vegas in the middle of no where, it's brilliant!

[chevypower]

I did SLC to Vegas a few months back and was surprised to see 80mph signs. We were in a rental Suburban. Sat on 85, wish it was like that everywhere. I did not fall asleep at the wheel which was nice!

[cartaa100]

I think that Australia really needs some iproving to its roads with brandnew completly straight motorways with speed limits of 140 or 150 maybe even higher, if not those speeds even a motorway thats dead straight thats 110km i think the roads here are so terrible and curvey its hard to go much above 110 safely, but since aus is such a large country we need some beter motorways that are alot straighter with higher speed limits.

Would have rather seen the money spent on the NBN (which will be out of date in say 10 years) go into new motorways or improving traffic flow on roads.

[mac_man_luke]

Originally Posted by cartaa100

Would have rather seen the money spent on the NBN (which will be out of date in say 10 years) go into new motorways or improving traffic flow on roads.

NBN wont be out of date in 10 years, its fibre - will be good for many many years - just like the copper has done for the past how ever many years.

[cartaa100]

Originally Posted by mac_man_luke

NBN wont be out of date in 10 years, its fibre - will be good for many many years - just like the copper has done for the past how ever many years.

that is true, but do we really need it, my internet at home and at work is already so fast.

[EFFalcon]

Originally Posted by cartaa100

that is true, but do we really need it, my internet at home and at work is already so fast.

lol...
yeah because the single person sitting at home on forums is exactly why the NBN is being built.

think businesses, think multi user environments, for once its about Future planning, not waiting until its an issue, then spending time and effort trying to fix the problem.

[Dave3911]

Originally Posted by cartaa100

that is true, but do we really need it, my internet at home and at work is already so fast.

Define "so fast".... because the majority of Australians have no idea what fast internet feels like.

[aussie muscle]

Originally Posted by cartaa100

I think that Australia really needs some iproving to its roads with brandnew completly straight motorways with speed limits of 140 or 150 maybe even higher,

especially given the distance between australia's major centers...

[cartaa100]

Originally Posted by aussie muscle

especially given the distance between australia's major centers...

we should just swap roads with germany, hahah :P

[Trevor 57]

Originally Posted by aussie muscle

especially given the distance between australia's major centers...

Given that Australia's abilty to fund such a thing, it ain't gonna happen, 22 million people and probably half of that are taxpayers.

[2011G6E]

Not to mention the simply staggering number of drivers out there that I wouldn't trust driving around a carpark, much less at 100kph on the highway...even less if they suddenly told people "you can drive at 140"...it'd be carnage...