A Dallas City Councilman is urging the state to reconsider the speed limit on Central Expressway and to deploy state troopers for stricter enforcement.
Recent observations show that the 119 mph allegedly driven by NFL player Rashee Rice just before a high-profile crash last March might not be an isolated incident. For several months, investigations have highlighted the prevalence of high-speed crashes along U.S. 75, a major thoroughfare running north out of downtown Dallas. The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) raised the speed limit to 70 mph, and ticketing by the Dallas Police Department has sharply declined in recent years.
Councilman Paul Ridley expressed heightened concerns following the crash involving Kansas City Chiefs player Rashee Rice, who police say was driving 119 mph, resulting in a chain-reaction crash that injured several people in March.
Dallas police records show a significant drop in speeding tickets issued on Central Expressway between 2019 and 2021, with a nearly 70% decrease. Although the number increased in 2022, it remained about 30% lower than three years prior.
Ridley suggests the state should re-evaluate the current 70 mph speed limit on Central Expressway, which was raised from 65 mph eight years ago to alleviate congestion. Some road safety experts argue that such a high speed limit is unusual for a freeway entering a major U.S. city.
An attorney representing an injured driver in the Rashee Rice crash believes that the higher speed limit has encouraged speeding on Central Expressway.