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February 2, 2012 in Idaho
Idaho decides not to let trucks drive 75 mph
Sen. Jim Hammond, R-Coeur d’Alene, tells the Senate Transportation Committee, which he chairs, about his bill to let trucks drive 75 mph in Idaho.
(Full-size photo)
BOISE - On a 5-4 vote, an Idaho Senate committee has killed legislation to allow big trucks to drive 75 mph on the state’s freeways, just like cars.
Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Jim Hammond, R-Coeur d’Alene, the bill’s sponsor, said, “The primary issue that brought this forth was safety. … Throughout my service on this committee, I have heard how safety is always enhanced when you’ve got all traffic flowing at a common speed.”
However, he said, “I also learned that it’s really unlikely that common speed can be achieved, based on the fact that most trucks have speed limiters. … Also some drivers will just choose to drive a lower speed than the maximum speed.”
Deborah Johnson, general manager of a Caldwell trucking company, said, “The problem we have is trucks will go slower. They’re engineered that way. We can’t go up King Hill faster than 35, I don’t care what the sign says, I’m not going to go faster because I can’t go any faster. So we’re always going to have that gap between trucks and cars.”
Sen. Tim Corder, R-Mountain Home, who owns a trucking company, said, “I would very much like to lower the speed of cars down to trucks. I think that’s the most logical thing do to, but we will never do that, that’s not practical.”
Idaho’s top speed on rural interstates is 75 mph for cars, and 65 mph for trucks; that’s been the case since 1998.
Since the bill was introduced, lawmakers have been informed that most large trucking firms limit their truckers to 62 to 65 mph for the best fuel efficiency and tire wear, and some install regulators that prevent the trucks from traveling faster.
Sen. Chuck Winder, R-Meridian, a former chairman of the Idaho Transportation Board, said, “If we have the largest number of operators, these larger fleets, still maintaining a lower speed limit, we won’t have accomplished anything. All we’ll do is maybe turn some of the renegades loose from Mississippi or Tennessee or something like that, that go flying through our state. And I think the general traveling public in a smaller vehicle are very uncomfortable with the faster speeds.”
Said Sen. John McGee, “I’m not prepared to support it without more of a consensus that it’s the right thing to do from a safety perspective.”
Hammond said he appreciated all the input about the bill, and felt the discussion was an important one for the state to have. “I would’ve been really surprised had it passed,” he said.
He was joined by three other senators in backing the bill: Corder; Sen. Steve Bair, R-Blackfoot; and Sen Bert Brackett, R-Rogerson.
Opposing it were Winder, McGee, Sen. Shawn Keough, R-Sandpoint; Sen. Diane Bilyeu, D-Pocatello; and Sen. Elliot Werk, D-Boise.
Eked-out win teaches Idaho Democrat a lesson 
oneanddone on February 02 at 3:44 p.m.
Who’s kidding who. Trucks already drive way over their speed limit.
logs2haul on February 02 at 4:15 p.m.
^ Got to make up for all the people who pull out in front of us and go 10 mph under the speed limit, until the passing lane comes up then they go 15 over.
RedCedar on February 02 at 4:29 p.m.
l2h has it nailed. It’s a wonder any trucker can keep his CDL for long, with all the oblivious and/or aggressive car and light truck drivers who pull in just past the big rig’s front bumper, pull up the on-ramp and into the freeway traffic without looking to see if anyone is already there, hit their brakes randomly for no apparent reason, try to zip past where there’s no visibility and then spin out on the ice, etc., and then when there’s a wreck, everybody blames the big rig. In Wallace last summer a trucker dumped his trailer over the side of the bridge and into the river in order to avoid killing a stupid young man who didn’t see the truck was there. This kind of thing happens all the time, but usually it’s a near miss, and a car driver who gets to continue her cell phone conversation uninterrupted, because the trucker was paying attention.
This bill, however, seems to be one of those things that sincerely seemed good at the outset but turned out to not be very practical
liberal_in_right_wing_land on February 02 at 4:47 p.m.
I drive a lot for work around the country and have seen some very gross semi truck vs. car accidents…..the semi always wins.
You ALWAYS give as much respect to truck driver as possible. When I am driving and passing them I always make sure they can see me when I am behind them, changing lanes to where I am always in their mirror and then never cut them off when I have passed them. If you had to stop suddenly when you cut off a semi truck, you will loss that fight everytime…..give them space.
That said, I am glad they didn’t pass this, I hate the states where trucks are allowed to drive the same speeds as cars….it gets scary sometimes.
catfuzz on February 02 at 9:57 p.m.
oneanddone: you are so clueless. Unless you only notice log trucks, chip trucks or container trucks. Those guys are nuckin’ futs. The large majority of truck drivers are safer on the road than you will ever be.
cozzster on February 07 at 3:28 a.m.
I don’t have much of a problem with trucks in the PNW. I lived there about 22 years and only incidents I recall seeing are when the weather is really bad they are the ones in the left lane screaming by all the cars who are driving according to conditions. That said, I am glad they didn’t raise the speed limit, they are dangerous enough going as fast as they are and we all know if the speed limit is raised 5 mph that actually means 10 cause everyone drives 5 mph over.
On a slightly unrelated topic, truck drivers in the south (particularly GA, AL) are all brain dead. Only lived there for 4 years and can’t even count the number of times I was cut off by trucks and trucks just assume the right of way to merge through a yield sign (cause those don’t apply to them cause they are bigger than the cars they are merging against). So many times I would be cruising along in the left lane passing cars and then, bam, here is a DA truck driver pulling into the left lane going 15mph less than I am. Good job. I can play FF games too and I let them know it. But like I said, never had too many problems with truck drivers in the PNW.