A Republican in the Idaho House introduced legislation that would do away with the state’s dual speed limits for cars and commercial trucks.
Joe Palmer of Meridian wants to get rid of the state's lower speed limit for big rigs. The chair of the House Transportation Committee, Palmer told fellow lawmakers on the committee the two separate speed limits confuses drivers. While he said Idaho was one of just a few states to have different speed limits, many have limits varying around 15 mph for interstate travel in rural areas and urban areas.
The Spokesman Review reports the law would fix the speed limit for all vehicles at 80 mph on stretches of interstate through Idaho. Palmer says many companies operating big rigs put speed controls on the trucks limiting the vehicles to a top speed of around 65 mph. Those in the trucking industry say fuel efficiency significantly goes down at speeds over 55 mph.
According to Palmer, his legislation will make passing easier for motorists. He also said law enforcement believe it would be easier to monitor traffic if there was a single posted speed limit.
Last year, a law was passed allowing motorists to go up to 15 mph above the speed limit as they passed another vehicle on two lane roads.
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