A new law allowing local authorities to alter speed limits based on road conditions will come into effect on September 1.
Initially sponsored by Rep. Terry Canales (D-Edinburg), HB 1885 was signed into law in June. It enables local Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) officials to temporarily adjust speed limits on stretches of road exhibiting hazardous conditions caused by inclement weather or construction.
While officials will be able to act without approval from state transportation commissioners, they must follow the recommendations made by engineers and traffic researchers.
Moreover, such reductions in speed cannot be greater than 10 mph and will only be in effect in places where motorists have been alerted to the changes. Several means might be used to inform motorists that the speed limit has been reduced in a given area.
“It could be a mobile digital sign that you see, oftentimes used on a trailer, it could be on any of the TxDOT signs, it could actually be a physical sign that is laid over one of the original — it’s whatever communicates to the drivers speed limit change as per state law,” Canales explained, according to The Texas Tribune.
The colossal 133-car pile-up resulting in six deaths and dozens of injuries that occurred in Tarrant County in 2021 is just one of the reasons lawmakers sought the legislative change.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, the crash happened at about 6 a.m. on February 11 on the southbound toll lanes of Interstate 35 West. A freeze had struck the region, creating slick road conditions that first responders likened to an ice-skating rink.
“If we’re not able to alter or modify the speed limit to reflect the current conditions, safety is in jeopardy,” Canales told The Texas Tribune.
Several other measures intended to shore up roadway safety were passed by the Texas Legislature this legislative session.
As covered by The Dallas Express, such laws range from replacing the term “accident” with “collision” in the Texas Transportation Code to clarifying the language used in laws related to lane usage and mandatory stops at pedestrian crosswalks.
Regarding the new flexible speed limits, pilots run by the TxDOT in 2013 and 2014 helped inform the drafting of the new rule.
“That pilot demonstrated that variable speed limits resulted in a safety benefit at each location where it was implemented,” Canales argued, per The Texas Tribune.
While some lawmakers were concerned that the measure could be misused to set speed traps, Sen. Robert Nichols (R-Jacksonville) backed the bill in the Senate.
Weighing in from the perspective of an experienced former TxDOT commissioner, Nichols stressed the need to address safety concerns.
“Transportation is a very nonpartisan issue. The roads belong to everybody,” Nichols said, according to The Texas Tribune.