Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, February 28, 1992 TAG: 9202280297
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
PANEL BACKS 65 MPH TRUCK LIMIT
After a one-sided public hearing Thursday, a Senate committee endorsed a bill increasing the speed limit for trucks to 65 mph on rural interstate highways.Nobody showed up to oppose the bill, which the Transportation Committee sent to the Senate floor on a voice vote.
Del. Pete Giesen, R-Augusta, said the bill would make rural interstates safer by allowing truckers to drive the same speed as other traffic. The General Assembly raised the speed limit for passenger vehicles from 55 mph to 65 mph on rural interstates in 1988.
"I believe uniform speed is the safest way of movement for vehicles," Giesen said, adding that a recent University of Virginia study came to the same conclusion.
Otis Patton of Chesterfield County, a retired truck driver, agreed.
"A differential speed limit causes more problems than it solves," he said. "It's a shame that in order for truckers to drive in a safe manner, they have to violate the law. The answer is to have uniform speed limits and enforce them."
Patton noted that the commercial drivers manual issued by the state says uniform speeds are safest, yet the law makes that impossible on rural interstates.
Ray Ashworth of the Virginia Trucking Association said the organization supports a 55 mph speed limit for all vehicles. "But if you keep it at 65 for cars, we favor increasing it for trucks," Ashworth said.
Giesen said 30 of the 37 states that increased speed limits in the late 1980s imposed uniform limits for cars and trucks. He said all of the states surrounding Virginia have uniform speed limits. Maryland's is 55 mph, he said, while the others are 65 mph.
According to Giesen, the increased braking distance that accompanies higher speeds creates less danger than the lane-changing associated with differential speed limits.
Nobody spoke against the bill, although Sen. Robert Scott, D-Newport News, said the Virginia Federation of Women's Clubs had sent a letter opposing the measure.