One bill
that would create a split speed limit in Connecticut is apparently dead,
but another is still alive in the General Assembly.
HB5982,
introduced by Rep. Brian O'Connor, D-Westbrook, would cut the speed limit
for tractor-trailers from 65 mph to 55 mph. The bill was still listed in
the Joint Committee on Transportation on April 8, and a spokesperson at
the General Assembly said no further action had been taken on the bill.
In addition, a spokesman for the Transportation Committee said the panel's
deadline to pass bills this year – 5 p.m. April 2 – had passed, effectively
killing the bill for this session. However, he said, such a measure could
be amended onto another bill on the House floor.
Another
bill, HB6672, would also create a lower speed limit for trucks on many
of the state's highways, 55 mph as opposed to 65 mph for other vehicles.
However, that bill also called for automatic photo-radar devices to catch
speeders and raised the possibility that some exits on I-95 through the
state would be closed for safety reasons.
While HB6672
did pass the Transportation Committee, the vote in favor of it was narrow – 14-12 – even
though the committee created the bill, and one spokesman for the Transportation
Committee indicated the bill was controversial. If it does not pass, however,
the spokesman said its provisions could end up amended into another measure
later in the session. Currently, the bill is before the Judiciary Committee.
HB6672
has spurred opposition among members of the trucking industry in the state.
Some industry officials spoke out against the bill during hearings and
in the media because of the split speed limit provision.
Dave Williams,
an OOIDA member from Penns Grove, N.J., told The Stamford Advocate that
the state's highways were too dangerous already without split speeds.
"If
you take into consideration that the typical Connecticut automobile driver
is irresponsible and has no regard for motoring laws, if you split the
speed limit, it's only going to get worse," Williams told the newspaper. "As
it is now, I don't like to come to Connecticut. When you had tolls up here,
it was a good place to run. But now it seems like courtesy has gone out
the window and everybody has road rage."
--by Mark
H. Reddig, associate editor
Mark H.
Reddig can be reached at mreddig@landlinemag.com.
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