ILLINOIS TRUCKING SPEED LIMIT INCREASED
Last week, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn enacted a new law that increases the speed limit for large trucks to 65 miles per hour in Illinois outside the six-county Chicago area. The increase applies to trucks carrying a gross weight of 8,001 pounds or more on interstates and other highways with at least four lanes and dividing medians.
Officials believe the speed increase may have a safety benefit by easing congestion. Officials explain that traffic jams result when big trucks are limited to 55mph while everyone else travels at 65mph. The different speeds can also cause problems during lane merges and lane change and can sometimes lead to accidents. One way to combat traffic fatalities is to have all of the vehicles on the freeway traveling at a relatively same maximum speed. This allows for traffic to flow in a more orderly fashion, especially across state lines where other states have had traditionally higher speed limits than Illinois.
The change will take effect on January 1, 2010.
