This could put a crimp in Freezing Saddles – Missouri edition

Talk about having to look UP from your cell phone…

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@scorchedearth 132356 wrote:

…the intellectual capacity of some of the legislators in Richmond.

Grim indeed.

Speed limits usually define the maximum allowable speed, however, so it is not clear that his bill would have the intended effect except through enforcement by mob rule of car drivers (the penchant for mob rule being another unfortunate characteristic of many of today’s politicians).

@scorchedearth 132356 wrote:

We should be more worried about Virginia where one state senator has introduced a bill which would mandate that all roads with two lanes in each direction have a speed limit of 45mph regardless of any other considerations. Apparently, this bill was spurred by the legislator having hit someone on a moped while driving and instead of improving their own skill, the legislator decided to draw up a bill which would effectively ban anything but cars from Virginia roads.

I doubt it will pass but it gives you an idea of the intellectual capacity of some of the legislators in Richmond.

Here’s a link to the proposed amendment: http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?161+ful+HB126

Here is the text of the bill (proposed amendments are in red):

§ 46.2-870. Maximum and minimum speed limits generally.

Except as otherwise provided in this article, the maximum speed limit shall be 55 miles per hour and the minimum speed limit shall be 45 miles per hour on interstate highways or other limited access highways with divided roadways, nonlimited access highways having four or more lanes, and all (removed: state) primary highways.

The maximum speed limit on all other highways shall be 55 miles per hour if the vehicle is a passenger motor vehicle, bus, pickup or panel truck, or a motorcycle, but 45 miles per hour on such highways if the vehicle is a truck, tractor truck, or combination of vehicles designed to transport property, or is a motor vehicle being used to tow a vehicle designed for self-propulsion, or a house trailer.

Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this section, the maximum speed limit shall be 70 miles per hour where indicated by lawfully placed signs, erected subsequent to a traffic engineering study and analysis of available and appropriate accident and law-enforcement data, on: (i) interstate highways, (ii) multilane, divided, limited access highways, and (iii) high-occupancy vehicle lanes if such lanes are physically separated from regular travel lanes. The maximum speed limit shall be 60 miles per hour where indicated by lawfully placed signs, erected subsequent to a traffic engineering study and analysis of available and appropriate accident and law-enforcement data, on U.S. Route 23, U.S. Route 29, U.S. Route 58, U.S. Alternate Route 58, U.S. Route 360, U.S. Route 460, and on U.S. Route 17 between the Town of Port Royal and Saluda where they are nonlimited access, multilane, divided highways.

What concerns me is that U.S. Route 29 (Lee Highway) and U.S. Route 50 (Arlington Boulevard) are included, but I am not sure how much they would be affected.

That would mean a minimum speed of 45MPH, on roads in Alexandria where the city wants to lower the maximum from 35MPH to 25MPH.

This is a red meat for his constituents, not meant to pass (like the orange flag bill in Missouri, I suspect.) If it did, NoVa might actually consider seceding.

@bobco85 132361 wrote:

What concerns me is that U.S. Route 29 (Lee Highway) and U.S. Route 50 (Arlington Boulevard) are included, but I am not sure how much they would be affected.

I believe this scopes in (in Arlington): 50, Lee Hwy, FAIRFAX DRIVE, Washington Blvd to Glebe, possibly Columbia Pike. Except for 50, all have at least stretches that are currently 35 or 30 and pass houses. Of course, the solution could be to just road diet them all, with PBL-parking-travel lane-turn lane-travel lane-parking-PBL.