Bill would slow cars, speed trucks

BOISE – Cars should go slower on Idaho freeways, and trucks should go faster, according to legislation introduced Thursday in a Senate committee.

Sen. Tim Corder, R-Mountain Home, who owns a trucking company, introduced a bill to lower Idaho’s top freeway speed for cars from 75 mph to 70, and to raise the top speed for trucks from 65 mph to 70. Corder said it’s safer for everyone if cars and trucks go the same speed.

“The fewer number of times that trucks and cars interact, the safer the roads are likely to be, the fewer number of accidents there are,” Corder told the Senate Transportation Committee.

Last year, Corder introduced a bill to raise truck speed limits to 75 but ended up withdrawing it after an outcry from safety advocates and others.

“There was a lot of concern about that. … It was too fast for trucks, some said,” Corder told the committee Thursday. This time, he said, “early criticism already has it that cars don’t want to drive that slow. So we’re going to be stuck here in the middle, but that’s OK – I think it’s time that this state has this debate.”

Sen. Brad Little, R-Emmett, said he hasn’t decided which way he’ll vote on the bill and is looking forward to a full hearing. “I want to hear the safety aspect,” he said, adding that he also wonders how the change would affect fuel economy and commerce. “These are some of my questions,” he said. “I look forward to the dialogue. There will be some people that hate it, and some people that like it.”

Dave Carlson, director of government and public affairs for AAA Idaho, said his group doesn’t have a position yet on the new bill. “We surveyed voters back in October, and in reference to raising truck speed limits to 75, Idaho voters were very much opposed,” he said.

The American Automobile Association of Idaho commissioned a telephone survey of 400 Idaho voters in 41 counties two weeks before the November election. The survey found that 80 percent opposed raising truck speed limits to 75 mph.

“Conflicting study results regarding the safety implications of split versus uniform speed limits for cars and trucks could lead to considerable debate on the subject,” said Jim Manion, AAA Idaho division president. “The guy on the street may not have read the studies, but it’s pretty clear they don’t like the idea.”

Corder cited a study commissioned by the American Truckers Association that found it was safer for both types of vehicles to travel the same speed. “This is the most exhaustive study I have read,” he said.

Senate President Pro Tem Bob Geddes, R-Soda Springs, noted that he sponsored the bill that raised Idaho’s freeway speed limit to 75 in 1996. The lower, 65 mph limit for trucks was added in 1998, as part of a trade-off when then-Gov. Phil Batt approved higher truck weights on some Idaho roads.

Geddes said he figures his commute from Soda Springs to Boise would increase from four hours to four hours and 16 minutes if he had to go 5 mph slower. “In reality, I can afford 16 minutes – it’s not going to be the end of my world,” he said.

But he said he hasn’t decided yet about the bill and expects to hear plenty from the public – because “it’s something everybody has a position on.”

“Probably tomorrow we’ll start getting e-mails,” Geddes said.