Standards on setting speed limits not followed

Before you get a speeding ticket, someone has to set a speed limit.

That's the government's job and it's required to follow stringent standards when setting speed limits.

But News 8 Investigates has learned those standards are not followed on large stretches of the Dallas North Tollway and the Bush Turnpike.

Experts say that calls into question the validity of speeding tickets.

Someone is clocking your speeds out there and it's not the police.

It's an engineer, in this case, a consultant working for the Texas Department of Transportation.

He's doing a speed study.

It's a test calculating the actual speeds people travel when traffic is light and it's required by state law.

And the law says you have to do one before you set a speed limit. Why?

"Statistics show that 85 percent of the people drive at a prudent and reasonable speed. If you set a speed limit lower than that, you're actually punishing prudent and reasonable drivers," said Kelly Selman, TxDOT director of transportation.

TxDOT controls most of our highways like 35 and 75.

How about the North Texas Tollway Authority?

The NTTA operates the North Dallas Tollway and the Bush Turnpike.

It turns out the agency has rejected some speed study results that show speeds could actually be increased in some places.

And News 8 has learned on some stretches of the tollway there are no speed studies at all.

From downtown to 635, on the tollway, the speed limit is 55 mph.

In the most recent speed study, a consultant concluded traffic naturally flows at around 72 mph, not 55.

More Here: Standards on setting speed limits not followed | News 8 Investigates | WFAA.com