Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, February 5, 1992 TAG: 9202050392
SECTION: NATL/INTL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BONNIE V. WINSTON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
DELEGATES OK 65 MPH FOR TRUCKS
Those 18-wheelers that whoosh by you as you head out of town on the interstate may soon get license to do it.The House of Delegates on Tuesday voted 58-41 to approve a bill that would raise the speed limit for trucks on rural interstates to 65 mph. Currently, trucks are limited to 55 mph on those stretches, while cars are allowed to run at 65.
Those voting in favor of the bill included Dels. Whittington Clement, D-Danville, Willard Finney, D-Rocky Mount, G.C. Jennings, D-Marion, Joan Munford, D-Blacksburg, and Roscoe Reynolds, D-Martinsville.
Opponents included Dels. Steven Agee, R-Salem, Tommy Baker, R-Radford, Richard Cranwell, D-Vinton, Lacey Putney, I-Bedford, Victor Thomas, D-Roanoke, and Clifton Woodrum, D-Roanoke.
The bill would have no effect on Interstate 581, where the speed limit for all vehicles is 55. But along most of I-81, trucks would be able to increase their speed to 65.
The measure now goes to the Senate for consideration.
The bill, sponsored by Del. Arthur R. Giesen Jr., R-Staunton, generated minimal debate. The major concern focused on whether it's dangerous to have trucks, tractor-trailers, house trailers and other big rigs flying down the highway at the same speed as cars.
When speed limits for cars were raised on rural interstates in 1988, then-Gov. Gerald Baliles insisted on retaining the 55-mph limit for heavy trucks. The safety community generally was opposed to the differential at the time.
Delegates on both sides of the issue Tuesday cited studies showing little impact on accident rates with a change in the truck speed.
While West Virginia has a single limit - 65 mph - for cars and trucks, a study conducted last year found no significant difference in accident rates on sections of Interstate 64 in that state and in Virginia, said Wally Timmons, director of public affairs for the American Automobile Association of Tidewater.
HOW SOME VOTED\ IN FAVOR: Dels. Whittington Clement, D-Danville; Willard Finney, D-Rocky Mount; G.C. Jennings, D-Marion; Joan Munford, D-Blacksburg; and Roscoe Reynolds, D-Martinsville.\ OPPOSED: Dels. Steven Agee, R-Salem; Tommy Baker, R-Radford; Richard Cranwell, D-Vinton; Lacey Putney, I-Bedford; Victor Thomas, D-Roanoke; and Clifton Woodrum, D-Roanoke.
Keywords:
GENERAL ASSEMBLY