Recently they increased the speed limit from 55mph to 70 mph on all major highways in a nearby statem where I travel regularly.
At first I thought this was a good idea. I always liked to drive about
60 when traveling between cities, which meant I had to watch the speedometer to avoid exceeding that speed and getting a ticket. Now, I can stay in the right lane, and still drive about 60, and not worry about getting a ticket. Driving at 70 seems too fast to me, but I can do it if I wish.The problem is that many drivers now do 80, and that's way too fast.
While 70 seems good in between cities, they continue that speed limit INSIDE the cities limits. This is just WRONG!
The speed limits should be reduced to 55 beginning about 5 or 10 miles outside of the city limits.
I was approaching a city, and there are many ramps, and approaches to go around the city, or toward another city, and it was rush hour. I was in the middle of a bunch of semi trucks and cars all going close to 80, and trying to read the signs and react to get into the right lanes in order to get to the proper ramps or splits in the highway. I have never been so panicked in my life. Granted, I live in a rural area, where we dont have the traffic congestion, or fast speeds, and I'm not used to it, but I have been in cities during rush hour many times in the past, and I managed to cope. At 70mph, I was not coping at all, and became so stressed that I just got off at the nearest ramp, and parked the car, to regain my sanity. Then I proceeded to drive thru the city stop and go traffic, even if that means taking an hour longer. There was no way I was getting back on that freeway.
70mph is fine between cities, but should be reduced to 55 when inside the city, and starting outside the city limits.