Oklahoma Interstate (Not Turnpike) Speed Limits

[zachj7]

Anybody know why I-35 and I-40 (not turnpikes) are 70 MPH and not 75 MPH Like Texas, KS, and other nearby states?

[bchris02]

Anybody know why I-35 and I-40 (not turnpikes) are 70 MPH and not 75 MPH Like Texas, KS, and other nearby states?

To help fill the coffers of the state police. There is no reason in a state as sparsely populated as Oklahoma that speed limits outside the metro areas should not be 75 or 80.

[kevinpate]

Because of a fear, not completely unfounded, that the general flow of traffic is typically the posted limit plus 6-15 more.
Scoff if you will, but 50+ years of observing cars and trucks while traveling here and elsewhere is enough to convince me this is an accurate belief.
I see this in town, on urban stretches and on wide open rural stretches, irrespective of whether it is two or four or more lanes.


on edit: and yeah, there is a definite revenue aspect there in addition to any safety aspect.

[jerrywall]

I'd say it's more a time and inertia factor. The national speed limit was done away with less than 20 years ago, and the highway speed limits have been creeping up.

[bchris02]

A lot of people still drive 55 no matter what the speed limit is.

[adaniel]

I've driven probably 80-100 times between Dallas and OKC the past decade. I can tell you unequivocally that traffic moves faster north of the Red River than south, largely because 35 is so congested the closer you get to Dallas. This is true even after speed limits have been raised.

Speed limits have little to do with flow of traffic. You'd be hard pressed to go 75+ consistently anywhere on 35 between the Red River and San Antonio, at least during the day, because of the traffic level.

[Plutonic Panda]

You can easily do a 100+ on I-35 to Dallas safely, but I'm not going to get into that. They need to raise the speed limits to 85MPH or so. I do agree with cops making revenue off of low speed limits, but I rarely see any police on that stretch of I-35 until you get into Texas, than you see a bunch of local cops sitting on the side of the highway(Denton is the worse) and occasionally a State Trooper or two.

[Zuplar]

Just drove to San Diego over the weekend via 40, for most of it anyways, and thought it was interesting how Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas were all 75 for their respective stretches of i40.

[Mel]

I can't be the only one that remembers this song from the bonehead carter days. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bADTlEo0Y30

[zachj7]

It's strange, anybody ever try to do something about it? OK is sparsely populated and large. I believe TX, KS, NE, SD, and ND all have 75 MPH on their interstates that are not turnpikes in rural areas.

[ctchandler]

If I'm not mistaken, I believe state law sets the speed limits on interstates except for the federal limitation while driving through major metropolitan areas. Turnpikes are a different thing altogether. The OTA sets the speed limits and if you haven't traveled the Kilpatrick, it is 70 mph in the metro area, not 60 mph like I-44, I-35, I-240 and I-40. Also, nobody has mentioned the fact that the speed limit on the Turner Turnpike is 75 and I believe it's 75 on the Will Rogers Turnpike as well. Can't remember the speed limits on the H. E. Bailey or the Cimarron, or Indian Nation turnpikes.
C. T.

[Zuplar]

I want to say that the Indian Nations is 75mph. I drive to Broken Bow at least once a year, and I feel as though I remember it being 75mph.