Trucks in Illinois are currently required to travel 10 mph below the 65 mph speed limit for other vehicles. Under the bill that passed the Illinois legislature the Illinois Department of Transportation Truck will be allowed to travel 65 mph, the speed limit for cars.
Illinois Governor Blagojevich has vetoed the bill twice before. In his latest veto message, the governor made it clear he doesn’t want trucks traveling at higher rates of speed. “This bill compromises safety by allowing trucks to travel at higher speeds. I remain opposed to increasing the speed limit to 65 miles per hour for large trucks,” Blagojevich wrote.
State transportation officials have called on legislators to uphold the governor’s veto of the bill. They refer to data from the Illinois DOT that shows nearly 140 people died in truck-related crashes in the state a year ago, The Southern Illinoisan reported. That number is down from an average of about 177 people who have been killed in truck-related crashes on roadways in the state in each of the past 10 years. Nevertheless, the Illinois legislature is expected to override the veto barring any unexpected change in their votes on the issue.
