Bill Would Speed Up Texas Trucks

A bill to remove the speed limit differential between cars and trucks in Texas was approved by both houses of the state legislature. Now all that remains is for some differences between the two bills to be worked out and Gov. George W. Bush to sign it.

Cars now cruise state highways and Interstates at 70 mph during the day and 65 mph at night, while trucks' speedometers are supposed to be pegged 10 mph slower in both instances.

The votes were nearly unanimous in both houses to eliminate the differential, except on farm-to-market roads, where trucks would be limited to 60 mph.

Because of slight differences between the two versions of the measure, a conference committee made up of members of each chamber must now work on a unified version. The new truck speed limits would go into effect Sept. 1.

The push to eliminate the split speed limits primarily came from owner-operators. The Texas Motor Transportation Association remained neutral on the legislation throughout the process, but the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association lobbied heavily for its passage.

"I've never walked into a hearing where we had so many members willing to testify as we did when the House committee looked at this bill and they didn't even bring the issue up until 9:30 at night," said Todd Spencer, vice president of the owner-operators' group.

Spencer said a truck speed limit of 60 mph in a state as expansive as Texas is unreasonable, resulting in low compliance.

For the full story, see the May 24 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.