The Texas Legislature eliminated the differentiation between daytime and nighttime speed limits on Sept. 1, eliminating the 65-mile-per-hour limit.

The law was changed  due to mainly the prevailing speed of traffic, or 85th percentile speed, where traffic accident involvement is statistically the lowest, said Henry Stowe, activist for the National Motorists Association.

Limiting motorists’ speed at night to 65 mph was causing problems and confusion because of the difficulties in defining when night begins, said Stowe.

“The nighttime limit was basically entrapping a lot of people,” Stowe said.

Stowe said the change will encourage drivers to check their headlights, thus creating a safer driving environment.

“It creates a uniform set of rules for driving across the state of Texas,” Stowe said. “Headlight technologies have improved drastically since the 1960s when the night limits were first set.”

Jimmy Ellison, ACU chief of police, said he did not think the night time speed limit of 65 mph statistically caused fewer accidents than driving 70 mph.

“But people still need to be more cautious and alert at night because sight restrictions are greater,” Ellison said.

To ensure safer driving at night, Ellison gave the following tips:

• Drive the speed limit.
• Drive a speed that is in accordance with the weather conditions.
• If there are multiple drivers in a vehicle, change drivers every 2-3 hours to avoid driver fatigue.
• If you are driving alone, take frequent rest breaks.
• Be wary of obstacles in the road, particularly wildlife.

“I think it’s great that the state legislature made this change to the speed limit laws,” Ellison said. “I’d like to see the citizens of Texas handle the changes responsibly and not take advantage of them.”

The Texas Department of Transportation is also considering raising highway speed limits from 70 to 75 mph. Stowe said the DOT is starting to conduct studies now, concentrating first on major routes that would probably not go into effect until 2013.

“It would turn more people into law abiding drivers instead of law breakers,” Stowe said. “Compliance goes up and speed differentials drop. There’s not that gap between the fastest and slowest drivers.”

Stowe said the NMA is also involved in issues such as red light cameras, Fourth and Sixth Amendment violations, vehicle inspection laws and environmental speed limits. He said the people’s right to drive on the roads is going to become increasingly under attack in the next few years.

“We’re pleased that the legislature did this,” Stowe said. “But we have more work to do to restore sanity in urban areas.”

To learn more about the NMA, visit www.motorists.org.