By Howie Fischer | Arizona Capitol Times
Key points:
- Arizona may become first state with no maximum speed limits on some highways
- Rep. Nick Kupper proposes 80 mph speed limit on rural roads, with option for no limit
- Higher rural speed limits could cut travel time on Arizona’s highways significantly
PHOENIX — Arizona could become the only state in the nation without a maximum speed limits on some of its highways.
Rep. Nick Kupper is proposing that speed limits on rural roads be at least 80 miles per hour in rural areas, five miles faster than the highest limits now on any Arizona highway.
But his HB 2059 would allow the director of the state Department of Transportation to deregulate entirely rural stretches of highway so that there would be no posted limit at all during daylight hours for non-commercial traffic.
And to prove his argument that removing speed limits is not unsafe, the legislation actually would mandate a pilot project, designating the entire stretch of Interstate 8 between Casa Grande and Yuma as a “derestricted speed zone” for at least a year to see whether it affected crash rates.
