(Grain Valley, Mo., August  17, 2009) – Going with the flow of traffic will finally be a reality for truckers after years of contending with dangerous split speeds on Illinois highways. Members of the Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA), which represents professional truckers, are glad the Illinois governor signed a new law to raise the speed limit for trucks to 65 mph. 

“This will no doubt bring an improvement to highway safety by reducing unsafe interactions between cars and trucks that previously operated at significantly different speeds,” said Todd Spencer, Executive Vice President.

The Illinois Senate voted in May 2009 to approve a bill that would allow vehicles weighing more than 8,000 pounds to travel 65 mph on highways outside Chicago. The bill – HB3956 –exempts the five surrounding “collar” counties from the rule change. House lawmakers approved the bill in early spring. The bill was signed into law by Gov. Pat Quinn on Friday Aug. 14 and goes into effect January 2010.

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association is the largest national trade association representing the interests of small-business trucking professionals and professional truck drivers. The Association currently has nearly 160,000 members nationwide. OOIDA was established in 1973 and is headquartered in the greater Kansas City, Mo., area.

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