Controversial raising of the speed limit could raise the number of Texas accident fatalities

Houston accident lawyer notes that in September, a new Texas law brought the nighttime speed limit up to the level of the daytime speed limit. The Texas speed limit change law also raised the maximum speed you can travel on some rural Texas roads to 85 mph.

Proponents say that the Texas speed limit change only recognized realities. Texas was the only remaining U.S. state to have differing daytime and nighttime speed limits on its highways.

Originally, the lower nighttime speed limit, enacted decades ago, intended to give drivers extra time to recognize and slow or stop for nighttime road hazards. A fatal Gulf Freeway wreck in Houston, where a Toyota Avalon slammed into a GMC pickup truck stopped in the freeway because of a previous wreck, illustrates the increased danger of nighttime accidents due to lesser visibility.

Critics claim that the raised Texas speed limit will lead to an increased number of accident fatalities and injuries, particularly with regard to trucks traveling rural Texas roads. Texans already suffer a huge number of fatal and injurious accidents on our thousands of miles of rural Texas roads. Some of these rural roads run narrow courses. Some of our rural Texas roads contain treacherous turns and curves. Others suffer from poor conditions and maintenance.

Texas also already hazards the nation’s greatest problem with illegal street racing, especially in Harris County. The Houston accident lawyers of Denena & Points have previously discussed the illegal street racing problem and its high fatality toll in our region. Critics of the Texas speed limit change say that the higher speed limits will only encourage those who already drive over the speed limit to drive even faster.

Our Houston accident lawyers point out that at higher speeds, it takes longer to stop. And making course adjustments presents risky challenges. A majority of fatal motorcycle accidents occur when drivers lose control of their bikes on curves, turns, or when making quick course adjustments.

Our Houston accident lawyers also remind you that mass increases with velocity. So the forces exerted on the fragile human body by an accident impact also increase with speed. At 30 mph, a driver suddenly noticing a pedestrian in the road 45 feet away has time to stop without hitting the pedestrian. A mere 5 mph increase in speed to 35 mph means that the same driver noticing the same pedestrian will hit the victim with his vehicle while still traveling at 18 mph. That’s enough speed to injure or kill the pedestrian.

And on the highway, a motorcycle striking an object will likely be traveling much faster than that. Such a high-speed wreck might very well kill the bike’s driver and passenger. The body of a motorcyclist suffers all the hazards of an accident impact. The biker doesn’t have the substantial protection from the external forces of a wreck enjoyed by the occupants of enclosed vehicles.

A 2009 study of police and municipal court records in conjunction with reported traffic accidents on Houston’s Allen Parkway showed that a substantial decrease in the number of speeding tickets issued corresponded to a sharp increase in the number of injury accidents reported on the Parkway. A 36% drop in speeding tickets related to a 154% increase in injury accidents. (Note: that number doesn’t even include all of the accidents with no reported injuries.)

There’s no question that speed kills in traffic accidents on our Houston, TX roadways. The question is how much the Texas speed limit change will increase the fatality toll from accidents. Only time will tell. Unfortunately, Houston first responders and Houston accident lawyers will be among the first to notice such a toll.