Texas Sets The Nation's Top Speed Limit

"State officials approved the new speed limit in May, making it the highest legal limit in the United States. The old speed limit had been 75 M.P.H., said Carlos Lopez, director of traffic operations for the Texas Department of Transportation. In all, it includes 521 miles of highway in parts of 10 counties, Mr. Lopez said."

"The higher speed limit has been a boon for Mr. Mossman, who as the owner of a wholesale cactus and desert plant company drives some 80,000 miles a year across the Southwest. He said the roads with the new speed zones were so remote that "everyone waves at each other because they haven't seen any other human in so long."

He added, "It's lonely out there."

"Not all Texans are happy with the higher speed limit. Before it took effect, the Hudspeth County commissioners passed a resolution opposing the change, and the county judge, Becky Dean-Walker, complained that the new speed limit was "too dangerous." She also said the new speed limit was a burden on the county. Most of Hudspeth County, which has a population of 3,295 and an area of 4,572 square miles, is served by a volunteer ambulance service. The judge said she was concerned that the ambulance service would be overburdened by an increase in highway accidents.

"We're a poor county," Ms. Dean-Walker said. "We can't keep enough volunteers. Every time they jack up the speed limit it puts a terrible strain on rural counties. Five miles an hour makes a difference every time in accidents."