In Springfield, IL, campers, buses and big rigs would be allowed to cruise up to 65 mph on four-lane divided highways in rural Illinois under a bill that passed the House.The House voted 78-37 to approve the bill. It would raise the legal speed limit for big rigs from 55 mph on some four-lane divided highways outside of cities. The measure now goes to the Senate.
Rep. Charles Hartke (D-Teutopolis) said there should be a uniform speed limit on such four-lane highways because truckers pose a hazard for cars when they see police and suddenly slow to 55 mph.
Hartke said the Illinois Department of Transportation opposed the bill on the theory that truckers who push the speed limit would drive 75 mph if the legal limit were raised to 65 mph.
Dick Adorjan, a Transportation Department spokesman, said the agency finds other problems with the bill.
“Look at the physics of it,” he said. “A truck traveling 65 mph takes a considerably longer distance to stop than one at 55 mph. It’s purely a safety issue.”
The measure says trucks can travel 65 mph on tollways as well. But Hartke, the bill’s sponsor, said that was unintentional and that he plans to remove the tollway provision when the Senate considers the measure.
—Associated Press