An Ohio bill to eliminate the state's split speed limit may go to committee vote this week.
If the Transportation Committee and the Speaker of the House approve HB55, it will go on to the full House.
During last week’s testimony, representatives of the Ohio State Highway Patrol, Ohio Association of Sheriffs and the American Automobile Association spoke out against the bill. Ohio State Patrol Major J.P. Allen said he prefers the split speeds to remain intact. "We like for trucks to hold down the speed of traffic with the lower speed they are required to drive," Allen said.
The bill's sponsor, Rep. Bryan Williams, as well as trucking officials, provided copies of studies reporting the dangers of split speeds. Among the studies cited was an Arizona Department of Transportation study from last year that found that a uniform speed limit reduced the number of potential conflicts and that split limits raises that potential. Also cited was a 1995 Ohio State Highway Patrol study that Rep. Williams interpreted as meaning different speeds were more of a hazard than the overall speed rate.
A spokesman for the Ohio Association of Sheriffs called the reports inaccurate and biased.