... 70mph - Route 93 -1/1/14
 

Just read in today's LaDaSun that effective next Jan 1, the Route 93 speed limit is going up to 70mph starting at mile marker #45 which is between Exits 17 & 18 in Canterbury and speeding all the way north on Rt 93 to Exit 48 or something, way up to the Vermont border up in Saint Johnsbury, with the exception of the Franconia Notch Parkway.

So, so much for "Arrive Alive at 55!" ........omg........that is very, very fast....70-mph.....what the heck is Gov Maggie Hassan been smoking to be signing this new speed limit?:eek:

Well in as much as most people are going 70 mph anyway, I don't see the big deal...

Unfortunately what this will mean, is that people will now people will feel they have the right to go 75-80 mph.... and that is an issue.

In most areas, 70-75 will be fine. There are some areas on 93, such as near exit 23, that I think 70 would be a bit fast. Coming down that hill to the exit (93 NB) can be a bit hairy during busy times.

I think 70 MPH is reasonable.

Parts of Maine are 75 MPH. I went 75 with a little ford focus and it didn't feel that comfortable going any faster.

I also agree with LIforrelaxin that everyone's going to push it. Some people felt the need to go faster so I got in the right lane like you should and they went on by.

Most of those on I-95 travel at least 75 to 80. On Route 16, speed limit 55, every one does at least 65. No big deal on I-93.

Worn out tires that are getting bad or wicked bad wheel alignment definitely makes a big difference at faster highway speeds and there is plenty cars out there with these defective equipment. Plenty people who cannot afford to maintain their car, or just let it go what with the 12-month inspection sticker as opposed to the no-longer-in-use 6-month inspection sticker for cars.

Trucks with a gvw of 12000-lbs and greater get inspected every six months so why not the cars too? If they gonna raise the speed limit, then they should bring back the 6-month state inspection sticker, as it used to be.

todays cars 70 is the new 55, with the technology, I see nothing wrong with this

Makes sense. That stretch from exit 22 - 23 seems to take forever.

I remember when the Speed Limit on 93 was 75mph. Might have even been 80mph.?.
I think 70mph is a safe and prudent speed for a road that was initially designed for higher speeds as is 93.

The roads might be designed better...and the same with car technology, but they (cars) are not designed for continuous 80 MPH runs. Case in point, your rated MPGs goes out the window.

Changing the speed limit to 75 does not mean that you have to drive that fast. You are certainly welcome to drive slower, but PLEASE if you are not passing somone, stay in the righthand lane.

The minimum legal speed limit on Route 93 is 45-mph but going that slow even in the right hand lane is a hazard and it makes other drivers angry......some will honk or flip you the digital salute....so now the minimum will be 45....and the maximum will be 70.....so probably the minimum 45 should be raised too.

Going just 45...even though legal...... can get get you stopped by a cop who suspects that you ..... "... say, why so slow, buddy?" ... are drunk.

here's an idea, if people do not want to go that fast, then there are other roads to take you through the lakes region and also the North Country

I agree with FLL here, someone going 45 MPH is potentially causing a dangerous situation. Passing by someone at a speed of 25 MPH or more might startle the other driver or even make the person overtaking look reckless when they weave from one lane to the next and back while maintaining the original speed.

I think it's a good move in the right direction. I suspect that the de facto speed limit of 75 MPH will not increase to 80 MPH for quite some time though, so for most people, nothing will really change.

I wish they'd address the absurdly low limits and lack of passing zones on our back roads. 35 to 40 MPH limits on roads like 107, 132, 175 etc. makes no sense unless it's snowing. This is the only area in the country that seems to set limits like that.

It all depends on where the State Police set their "Trigger" point ... 76, 78 or 81mph

Currently I am not aware of ANY state highway where they don't give you at least 4-5mph over posted limit


.

The interstate highway was designed for 75 mph travel.Methinks people forgot when that was the speed limit way back when.The cars certainly have become safer in that time.The reduction in speeds was not imposed because of safety but for fuel safings during the gas crisis of the late 70's-early 80's.

The governors take on the SL change
 

‘‘We must always be cautious when considering speed-limit increases in order to maintain the safety of our citizens and of visitors using our highways,’’ Hassan said in a statement. ‘‘The limited nature of the 5 mile-per-hour speed-limit increase in a targeted region of the state, along with the overwhelming, bipartisan support for the measure, makes me comfortable with signing this measure into law, bringing the speed limit more in line with the habits of our rural travelers.’’

More in line with habits of our rural travelers?:laugh:Interesting spin governor but I'm glad you succumbed to the overwhelming support of this change.

Correct, but this all before the invention of the cell phone and texting, but that a whole other story...

The roads in Maine that are posted at 75 don't get nearly the amount of traffic that I-93 north of Concord gets on a summer weekend. Not even close.

Traffic automatically limits the speed. The speed limit won't affect Summer weekend speeds at all. It will be nice for folks that travel that route when it's deserted though.

That's about 9 miles. That extra 5 mph will cut all of 36 seconds off that "forever."

Cars may be better engineered for higher speed, but the drivers aren't.

This is great news and a step in the right direction! I wish they would evaluate the speed limits for more stretches of highway across all of New England. I understand limiting speeds for back roads because of pedestrians, turning vehicles, etc. but the speeds on many stretches of highway are not in line with how people are driving and are lower than they were years ago. If bulk of traffic can travel safely at 70 mph then that should be the limit. Speed limits are supposed to be maximum limits set for traveling under ideal conditions yet there are many stretches of road where there are very few vehicles on local highways traveling below those limits, particularly in 55 mph zones.

If you commute on that route every work day for 10 years, that will add up to more than two days. I'd rather spend two days at the lake instead of driving on 93.

That or when you are at the end of a 14 hour trip it would be nice to shave off 36 seconds of being in the truck.

55mph was set to save fuel when all cars were carburated...With everything now fuel injected,the higher speed will actually increase or not affect fuel economy....SPEED DOES NOT KILL,,, PEOPLE DO............

Even with fuel injection, the higher the speed, the lower the mileage. It's simple physics... aerodynamics.

TMI Guy is correct. There is a sweet spot for all vehicles and once you go over that you have higher RPMs and more aerodynamic drag (i.e. wind resistance).

70 mph
 

I don't think most drivers today can handle 70MPH. The cars can do it but the drivers are another issue. What will happen if an animal wants to cross the road and a car is coming up on it at that speed? :eek:

But the lake has a speed limit, go figure.:confused:

Depends if the animal is a moose or a squirral.

It's called reverse psychology. Do you see the folks that are already going 75? Maybe now they'll figure that an extra 5mph isn't worth a ticket like 10mph over used to be.

People tend to drive the speed they are comfortable at. If most people are already driving 70 - 75 MPH they are probably not going to increase by much, if at all.

I tend to target 72/73 MPH but would probably push it up to at least 75 with the new limit. I feel perfectly comfortable at that speed and even higher. Yes, you have a little less time to react in an emergency situation but at high speeds the time is already reduced. The impact of a collision could be a little worse but the impact of a 65MPH crash is already probably fatal.

Of course if you are uncomfortable at 70 MPH just stay in the right lane so I can pass you. Thanks. :D

For real
 

Let's be serious

This speed in todays cars is sate at not only 70 - but easily 80 mph. Over 10 years at thes speeds you can add an extra few months to your life not wasted on some freeway.

We shouldn't be setting our speed limits to the lowest common denominator.

Otoh
 

I've noticed as the car makers add safety features to cars, the public drives them to the limits of these improvements. Couple that with the advertisements of getting into the new improved car and roaring past an 18 wheeler into oncoming traffic feeling perfectly safe and smiling at your passenger as you barely get back into lane in time.

So, do you want your 17 year old daughter that just got their license to see an 80 MPH limit and think the car is built for that and therefore go for it? Errrr... not me, thanks.

They have these drag chips, wonder if they have governor chips, I can think of a majority of people that need these.....

Modern cars, light trucks, and motorcycles are perfectly safe at 80 MPH, there's nothing to worry about. Much of the civilized world (including the western US) has been operating at those speeds for years. Big trucks are a big worry at 80 MPH though. Loaded up, it takes them a LOOOOOONG time to stop from 80. The government is trying to do something about it, but the latest safety standard for big rig braking distance is 60-0 in 250 feet (or 310 feet depending on GVWR) which is double the distance a sporty car or motorcycle requires for the same deceleration. Bear in mind, this standard only applies to new trucks. Older trucks typically require 355 feet to stop from 60.

If you want to worry about your 17 year old daughter going 80 MPH, worry that she can keep going 80 MPH so that big rig behind her does not occupy the same space she is in...

Here is a calculator...
 

Draw you own conclusions...as they say, it is a rough estimate.

http://forensicdynamics.com/stopping-distance-calculator

As some have said that they do 70 when the speed limit is 65, it maybe reasonable to assume that with the limit raised to 70, they may up their speed to 75. In a section of Interstate where there are moose populations, that resulting increase in speed, by the calculator, would add over 30 ft to stopping distance. This 30 ft could be difference between "Boy that was close" and "Hey Bullwinkle, get outta my car!!!!" :rolleye1:

Just another side to consider.

KE=1/2MVsquared

70 mph
 

What's the big deal with 70 MPH. We drive up from Nashua and except for a couple stretches in Manchester and Concord, I set my cruise control at 72 to 73 MPH. At that speed, I'm hardly ever in the passing lane as the traffic is blowing by me. The cars are safer, tires are made better, roads can easily handle the speed.
Wasn't the speed limit 70 MPH years ago on the NH highways?
The biggest problem I see is cars weaving from lane to lane as drivers send and receive text messages on their phones. I think that is a more serious problem than speed.

Number one the math is wrong. 60 mph is one mile per minute, so 8 minutes @ 67mph, so that would be around 7 minutes 43 seconds, to get through forever....:D And number two, please tell me who is not doing doing over 70mph on RT 93? I drive that road all the time and if I do 75mph I get passed constantly. Matter of fact going through the new rolling tolls yesterday at Hooksett, I slowed to 65 and at least ten people went whizzing by like I had stopped. That straight stretch right north of the Hooksett toll is where people really start stretching their legs. I followed a guy towing a boat at 80mph on Saturday. 70 is nothing compared to how people drive already, even with a 65 speed limit.

I think 70 mph is fine for this stretch. But if you think you are safer at these speeds or burn less gas than at 55 then you are mistaken. The energy in an object increases exponentially with velocity. That means at speeds above say 60mph stored energy increases substantially more per each 1 mph increase than at slower speeds, let's say from 30 mph. This means longer stopping distances and more damage to limb and vehicle at the faster speeds if you hit something because you have to dissipate more energy to get stopped.

Dick R's math is correct for an increase in SL from 65 to 70.

Why did you slow for the toll? I can't figure out why anyone would do that when the whole point of the new lanes is to not slow down.

My guess is...
 

...he slowed down to the speed limit so as not to get a ticket from EZ Pass for going to fast through the tolls. :rolleye1:

AFAIK, the speed limit does not change through the tolls and EZ pass does not issue speeding tickets (they are not a law enforcement agency). It's just another section of highway.

An old man remembrances....
 

....well, not all that old, but that is another story. When EZ Pass first came about, there were yellow caution signs that stated the "speed limits" through the tolls was 10 MPH. In the fairly recent past (few years, I think), these signs were replaced with the white speed limit signs of 25 because some obscure RSA does not allow speed limits below 25 to be post on roads (state roads?).

Not long after EZ Pass came into being, a casual friend breezed through one of the tolls on the Spaulding at 40+ (42, I think) and received a summons from the State for speeding through tolls. He paid the ticket.

From the EZ Pass NH website, FAQ section, check out Miscellaneous and how to get a violation.

https://www.ezpassnh.com/en/faq/general.shtml

Cheers...nothing better to do while having my second cup of coffee.:laugh:

I don't think 70 mph is all that fast with the technology in today's vehicles and tires. As far as the drivers not being ready most of them are doing 80+ mph any way so raising the speed limit will not change anything.

We have hundreds and hundreds of miles of 70 mph roads here in NC. I drive one everyday. Some people won't even go 70, but they also sit in the left lane. The left/passing lane thing is a whole different topic down here. :rolleye1:

It's not nearly as scary as some might think. I'm quite comfy going 70-80 and I still get my doors blown off by others. It's not the speed in the straight line that's the real issue. It's the abrupt changing of lanes, tail gating, slow pokes in the passing lanes, cell phone use, etc. A good defensive driver can drive very safe at those speeds.

I could not agree with you more. It is not the speed that creates the problem most of the time. It is the people swerving in and out of the lanes cutting people off.

The new high speed lanes on 93 bypass the toll booths completely and do not require any reduction in speed. Speeding through there is no different than speeding on any other section of highway.

Except they snap your picture....

Show me a story about a ticket issued using said picture...

From the EZ pass FAQ:

"Could I get a speeding ticket for going too fast through an E-ZPass lane?

Maybe … NHDOT has no authorization to issue speeding tickets. This is a Department of Safety - NH State Police issue. If a State Trooper is monitoring speed through the toll lanes, and you exceed the posted speed through the E-ZPass lane, you could be issued a summons."

The risk is the same there as it is anywhere else on the highway.

Is the end of a 14 hour trip a good time to be pushing the speed limit? I know what your saying but still....

People would likely be doing less swerving if people would stop driving in the left lane instead of using it as a passing lane. The left lane driving causes more issues than most realize.

Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk 2

That is a pet peeve of mine when you get 2 cars side by side and they are both going 5 mph under the speed limit and there is no way to get by them and that happens more often than you think.

I know, I know. It was more of tongue in cheek comment I guess. I do find myself with a lot more energy when the trip is almost over.

Pet peeve?? How about when you get behind 2 of these folks "flying formation" at 60 MPH for 5 miles then, when one of them decides to break formation and you want to pass, you have to hit 80 to get around them because the idiot speeds up?

Almost every day on I-93