Two weeks into the new year, lawmakers around the country are wasting little time introducing legislation to revise speed limit rules.
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association believes roadways are safest when all vehicles are allowed to travel at the same rate of speed. The Association does not advocate for a specific speed limit.
Background
Since the repeal of the National Maximum Speed Law in 1995, the authority to establish speed limits on state highway systems has rested with the states. States all over the map have since acted to modify speed limits in one way or another.
Initially, some states acted to keep speed limits for large trucks below the speed set for passenger vehicles. Over the past 20 years, however, states have moved to eliminate or to reduce speed limit differentials.
At this time, there are eight states with speed limit differentials on at least certain segments of roadways.
The western states of California, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington have speed differentials ranging from 5 to 15 mph. Arkansas, Indiana and Michigan are the lone states outside that region to continue to observe speed limit differentials on their state’s fastest roadways.
Indiana
A regular pursuit at the Indiana statehouse would remove the state from the short list of those with speed limit differentials.
Hoosier State law permits passenger vehicles to travel 70 mph on the state’s fastest roadways, while vehicles heavier than 26,000 pounds are limited to 65 mph.
Sponsored by Rep. Mike Aylesworth, R-Hebron, HB1078 would eliminate the speed limit differential for cars and trucks on interstates and defense highways located outside an urbanized area with a population of at least 50,000. The rule change would also apply to the Indiana Toll Road.
The bill is in the House Roads and Transportation Committee. It has not yet been scheduled for committee consideration.
Advocates for uniform speeds in the state have said it simply makes sense to eliminate speed limit differentials, noting that if everyone is driving at or near the same speed, traffic flows better.
The Indiana Department of Transportation is also on board with the change. A recent joint research study on speed limits with Purdue University suggested that uniform 70 mph speed limits would reduce crash frequencies in the state by about 20%.
Doug Morris, OOIDA director of state government affairs, said that speed differentials are based on a flawed belief that slower trucks equal safer trucks. He added that that’s simply not the case.
The Indiana Motor Truck Association remains undeterred on the issue. The group has told legislators it is important to resist the urge to drive faster. They added that trucking companies would not adjust equipped speed limiters to permit drivers to travel 70 mph.
Variable speed limits
Another Indiana speed limit bill would reverse course on the use of variable speed limits.
Variable speed limits use speed limit signs that change to slow drivers in order to avoid creating heavy traffic congestion. The Texas A&M Transportation Institute provides information on how the process works.
INDOT utilizes variable speed limits on Interstate 465 in southeast Indianapolis and on Interstate 80/Interstate94 in northern Indiana.
SB323 would prohibit a local authority or INDOT from implementing variable speed limits or using electronic variable speed limit signs.
Mississippi
One Mississippi bill would also address speed limits.
A House bill would authorize the Mississippi Transportation Commission to allow truckers and other drivers to travel 75 mph on rural interstates and four-lane highways – up from 70 mph. If the state adds toll roads, HB74 would permit all vehicles to travel 80 mph on affected roadways.
Advocates have said that many travelers in the state are already driving 75 mph. Supporters want to make sure they’re doing it legally.
New Jersey
An annual pursuit in New Jersey addresses how the state sets speed limits.
Sen. Declan O’Scanlon, R-Monmouth, is behind a bill that would use the 85th-percentile formula to set speed limits on limited-access highways that include the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway.
The 85th-percentile speed rule is the speed at or below which 85% of vehicles travel in free-flowing traffic.
“Right now, virtually 100 percent of drivers on our under-posted limited-access highways are breaking the law,” O’Scanlon said in previous remarks. “Either they/we are all reckless, homicidal maniacs, or our method of setting speed limits is seriously flawed.”
The New Jersey Department of Transportation and other state traffic agencies would be required to use 85th-percentile studies to set speed limits. Agencies would reevaluate speed limits at least every 10 years or when a road is substantially changed.
“My position is that we need to remove legislators and bureaucrats from the speed-limit-setting process and empower highway traffic safety engineers to do their jobs unencumbered by political influence,” O’Scanlon said.
O’Scanlon added that he is not looking to change how fast people drive. Instead, he wants speed limits to reflect the speeds people are already driving.
His bill, S1652, is in the Senate Transportation Committee.
New York
Across the state line in New York, a Senate bill would boost the speed limit for cars and trucks.
The Empire State permits all vehicles to travel 65 mph on interstate highways and other limited-access roads.
One Senate bill would authorize speeds for cars and trucks to increase to 70 mph. The state DOT and the New York Thruway Authority would be permitted to implement the change.
Sen. Tom O’Mara, R-Big Flats, has said the change would keep New York in line with maximum speeds in many other states.
“The majority of states across the country have state speed limits that exceed 65 mph,” O’Mara wrote in a previous memo. “New York has failed to keep up with the rest of the country by not adopting a more efficient speed limit.
He said his bill would correct the inefficacy by permitting vehicles to travel 70 mph “where appropriate.”
S1500 is in the Senate Transportation Committee.
North Dakota
In North Dakota, one state lawmaker has waited out the governor in pursuit of authorizing higher speed limits on the state’s fastest roadways.
North Dakota law authorizes 75 mph speeds on Interstates 29 and 94. Speeds along four-lane divided highways are set at 70 mph. Two-lane highways are posted at 65 mph.
Rep. Ben Koppelman, R-West Fargo, is again pursuing a rule change to increase speed limits to 80 mph for all drivers on interstate highways.
In 2023, the Legislature approved the pursuit, but then-Gov. Doug Burgum vetoed the bill. He cited safety concerns for his veto.
Koppelman has brought the issue back to the statehouse with the introduction of HB1298. The bill will start in the House Transportation Committee.
South Carolina
A South Carolina bill addresses concern about slow-moving traffic on the state’s fastest highways.
Statute prohibits slow-moving vehicles from impeding “the normal and reasonable movement” of traffic. Certain exceptions apply.
The state DOT and local authorities are authorized to establish minimum speed zones. Affected areas can be set when an engineering and traffic investigation shows that slow speeds on a portion of highway consistently impede the normal and reasonable movement of traffic.
H3138 would raise the minimum speed limit along the state’s interstates. The bill states that along highways with a maximum posted speed of 70 mph, the minimum speed would be 50 mph – up from 45 mph.
The bill is in the House Education and Public Works Committee. LL
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