If you ask any longtime Austinite what their biggest frustrations are when it comes to driving on Mopac, you will likely hear a good many of them tell you that the habitually slow drivers who clog up the fast lanes by refusing to move over are right at the top of the list. While state law actually does require slower drivers to move over to allow for faster traffic to pass, the law is rarely enforced in Austin. On Wednesday, the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority voted to implement a minimum speed for the Mopac toll lanes in an effort to maintain a steady flow of traffic, especially when the variable tolling rates start to climb higher during peak travel times.
The CTRMA board approved a 55 mile per hour minimum speed limit.
According to data presented Wednesday to CTRMA, about 15-percent of drivers on Mopac travel at speeds below 55 miles per hour on any given day. That data also showed a correlation between slow drivers and excessive lane changing and dangerous passing efforts.
“We, unfortunately, have seen some illegal, unsafe shoulder-passing maneuvers on our facilities,” said CTRMA engineer Justin Word. “So, there is some pent up demand to get around folks that are going extremely slow.”
Word said there has also been an uptick in drivers choosing to exit the toll lane by simply driving over the soft delineator sticks to avoid those slower drivers.
“I think, in keeping with the original purpose of the express lanes, that setting some sort of minimum makes sense,” Word said.
Imposing a minimum speed limit is not a common practice for a road such as Mopac. However, due to the significant number of drivers who consistently choose to drive well below the posted speed, compounded by other drivers’ inability to pass them on the toll lanes, CTRMA felt the addition of a minimum speed was warranted.
As for enforcement, it’s not clear how often Austin police officers may actually crackdown on slow drivers. According to APD traffic code, driving below the minimum speed limit for “a period of 3 or more blocks” could result in the car being removed from the roadway for impeding traffic.
The change is not without its critics, however, some of whom say giving people the legal ability to drive as slow as 55 miles per hour on the toll lanes will encourage them to do just that. CTRMA vice chair Nikelle Meade was the lone ‘no’ vote for that very reason.
“The risk is that it gives drivers a license to go that speed limit,” she said.
Along with that new minimum speed, CTRMA also approved a new maximum speed of 70 miles per hour, which is five miles per hour faster than the general mainlanes.
These changes will come with an $80,000 price tag. That money will be put toward new signage. Once installed, which is expected to take 3-6 months, the new speed limits will then take effect.
