Illinois state Sen. George Shadid, D-Pekin, has introduced a new bill that would eliminate the split speed limit in the state.

SB2374, introduced Feb. 3, would eliminate provisions in Illinois law that set up a slower, 55 mph speed limit for any vehicle over 8,000 pounds traveling on rural interstates. Other vehicles on those roads can travel 65 mph; all speed limits would remain 55 mph in urban areas.

The bill, which is now before the Senate Transportation Committee, is the second recent attempt to eliminate the split speed. Last year, Rep. Dan Reitz, D-Sparta, sponsored HB1186, which would have eliminated the split. That bill passed handily in both houses, but was vetoed by Gov. Rod Blagojevich. An attempt to overturn the veto failed in the House by two votes.

OOIDA and other trucking industry officials fought for passage of HB1186. They cited federal statistics showing that split speed limits lead to more accidents.

However, a number of other groups, including the AAA Chicago Motor Club, fought the bill, often pointing to the same data. AAA mounted a last-minute offensive against the bill after it passed both houses. The veto came shortly afterward.

“I’m disappointed we weren’t able to override this measure, but I’m not all that surprised in the people who changed their minds,” Reitz said shortly after the veto in November. “The governor’s veto articulated that there was a AAA study that said there were more severe accidents when trucks were traveling at a higher speed. We had used a AAA study earlier to say that it was safer to have uniform speed limits.”

“We had a lot of urban legislators who aren’t directly affected by it who changed their minds because of the governor’s veto,” he said. “Everyone downstate, everyone with rural interstates supported the measure.”

“We need to get all of our information together,” Reitz added. “Forty other states have uniform speed limits, which is a very good reason [to change], and the trend is more and more states are moving to uniform speed limits. I think the more education we can get to the General Assembly, the better.”