Utah DOT Opens 80 mph Speed Zones

Have you ever wished you could drive 130km/h and not be breaking the law? You’re in luck if you don’t mind driving to Utah.

Last week the Utah Department of transportation announced that in several areas of the state, the speed limit has been increased to 80 mph (around 130 km/h.)

The move comes as the government recently completed several speed studies on rural highway sections.

"We had to look at geometry and speed ... speed-related crashes, just to see if it made sense," said John Gleason of UDOT. "And in these designated areas ... 80 miles per hour is the optimal speed."

Bill HB83 which was passed in 2013 allowed the government to study and, if feasible, establish speed limits greater than 75 MPH.

According the studies of existing 80 MPH zones, accidents rates have declined in part because more traffic was moving with less variation of speed.

Source: KSL.com