CLEVELAND -- Truck drivers in Ohio are urging state lawmakers to raise the highway speed limit for big rigs to match the 65 mph limit mandated for other drivers, saying it would be safer for everyone on the roadways.
Tractor-trailers are limited to 55 mph on interstate highways, except for the Ohio Turnpike, which increased its limit to 65 mph in 2004 to lure truckers who were taking other routes.
The Ohio Trucking Association had been neutral on the issue but is now pushing for that uniform speed on other interstates, arguing that it would decrease accidents and improve safety for all drivers.
"We had felt there were savings in fuel in going slower," said Larry Davis, president of the Ohio Trucking Association, a trade group that represents more than 1,000 Ohio trucking companies. "But when you weigh that against the crashes, we think it is safer to go all one speed."
Many crashes occur when car drivers rear-end slower trucks, Davis said.
The state association's push echoes a movement by the national American Trucking Association, which asked Congress this week to create a 65 mph speed limit nationwide for all types of vehicles.
Ohio is one of 11 states that have different speed limits for cars and trucks. California, Illinois and Oregon also limit truckers to 55 mph while allowing cars to whiz past at faster speeds.
Truckers travel at up to 75 mph in some western states, including Colorado and Arizona, where highway officials say they know of no problems related to cars and trucks moving at the same faster rate.
In recent years, Ohio lawmakers have tried unsuccessfully to raise the truck speed limit. They met with strong opposition from the State Highway Patrol, which contends that faster-moving trucks can't stop as quickly, are more likely to cause accidents and cause more damage if they do.
A 2006 study of the Ohio Turnpike showed crashes involving commercial vehicles went up 32 percent after the truck speed increased, patrol spokesman Lt. Shawn Davis said. In the year immediately following the change, the patrol said such accidents had increased 40 percent.
Turnpike officials then and now have noted that severe weather and numerous other factors affect the number of crashes.
"A uniform speed of vehicles in traffic results in the safest operation because it keeps vehicles flowing smoothly and allows motorists to navigate without speed variance, which can contribute to crashes," said Lauren Hakos, a Turnpike commission spokeswoman.
Other studies have drawn different conclusions. The American Society for Civil Engineers reported in 2006 that split speed limits made little difference. Studies by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that accidents and deaths increased with higher speed limits for all vehicles.
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Truckers Push 65 Mph Speed Limit For Rigs
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NBC4i.com
Published: February 02, 2009
Published: February 02, 2009
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