'Not so fast': Arkansas officials are not ready to OK 75 mph limit on highways

LITTLE ROCK—While a new Arkansas law that took effect Tuesday authorizes speeds of up to 75 mph on some major highways, state highway officials said, "Not so fast."

Engineers are still studying road designs and traffic patterns to determine whether Arkansas should join 18 other states with speed limits at least that high, Department of Transportation spokesman Danny Straessle said Tuesday. It's possible that no part of the state's 16,432-mile highway system can handle that speed, and there's a chance that some speed limits will have to be lowered because of higher traffic counts.

"We have to take each of the highways individually, take into account the terrain, the volume of tractor-trailer traffic the population through which the highway is running, rural vs. non-rural," Straessle said. Results are expected at the end of the summer.

"We know folks exceed the speed limit, so what are people really going to drive?" Straessle asked. "If you get over 85 (mph) on some of these highways, that's really not a good idea."

Read more: http://www.texarkanagazette.com/news/arkansas/story/2017/aug/02/not-so-fast-arkansas-officials-are-not-ready-ok-75-mph-limit-highways/684680/