Proposed Idaho Senate Bill Would Allow Trucks To Speed Up

Some new legislation in Idaho’s senate could make the interstates safer.

Then again, it might not.

The Idaho senate is discussing a bill that would allow semi-trucks to drive 75 mph, instead of 65 mph on the interstate. That’s the same speed as cars, but there are no clear answers as to whether or not this change would make things any safer on the roads.

Robert Tonderum has been driving trucks for more than 35 years. He certainly wouldn’t mind going 10 miles per hour faster.

“You’d get there a lot quicker, that’s for sure!” Tonderum said. “You got a line of cars around you, mad. [Drivers] are getting angry, they’re flipping — doing obscene gestures at you.”

Truckers know that people can get a little angry when they’re stuck behind them on the road.

“People don’t like to move slow, and they don’t like to be behind trucks, so they want to hurry and get around the trucks,” said Russell Gantz, another truck driver. “That can pose a hazard for the vehicle.”

One might argue that it would likely be safer if cars weren’t forced to dart back and forth between lanes so often, but then there are other concerns.

“If you should have a front blowout, there’s a greater chance of losing control of the truck and having an accident,” Tonderum said.

It would also be more difficult for a truck driver to stop if something else were to go wrong.

Gantz estimates that it would take a semi-truck carrying an 80,000 lb. load approximately 120-130 yards to come to a safe stop from a speed of 75 miles per hour.

The Idaho Transportation Department is also back and forth on the issue.

“The Transportation Department is neutral on the bill,” said Adam Rush, a spokesman for the ITD in Boise.

Studies have been done on the matter, which all came back inconclusive.

Sixty-five miles per hour is considered the speed for maximum fuel efficiency in semi-trucks.

Additionally, many trucks have computerized governors in them, which won’t allow the vehicle to go faster than 65.