EAST TEXAS (KLTV) -
Talk about putting the pedal to the metal; a new stretch of Texas highway has increased its speed.
But is it safe?
A stretch of highway 130 outside of Austin is sporting a new 85 mile per hour limit.
Some are worried about the safety of drivers racing down the road.
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, 35 states have raised speed limits to 70 miles per hour or higher.
And no one is more aware of that than long-distance truckers like Anthony Frederick, who says he fears what's to come.
"Doing 85 miles per hour, all they're doing is asking for more accidents and more deaths is about it. Because by the time, like they say, it takes a football field to stop a semi. 85 miles an hour, go ahead and try to stop a semi if somebody slams on their brakes in front of you real quick for an emergency or something," Frederick said.
Think of it this way: 85 miles per hour is as strong as a category 1 hurricane.
Some say the chance of surviving an accident going that fast is essentially zero.
But according to the Texas Department of Transportation, highway 130 was built for speed.
Engineers put their professional certifications and seals on the line stating that this is the safe and right speed for this highway.
In addition to Texas, the states of Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia have increased speed limits to as high as 85.
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