3/15/04-Tennessee transportation officials advise that any speed-limit reductions to improve air quality should apply to all vehicles, not just large trucks.
Enacting different limits for cars and trucks would produce safety hazards, they claim.
“Whatever we’re going to have to do is going to have to be done for all,” Ed Cole, chief of planning and environment for the Tennessee Department of Transportation, which sets speed limits, told The Tennessean.
The state Air Pollution Control Board is recommending a series of changes, including making the maximum speed for semis 55 mph, down from 70 mph, to reduce the amount of ozone-causing compounds going into the air.
The recommendation also suggests banning truck drivers from idling engines for long periods and requiring companies with government contracts to use clean engine technology and fuel additives for heavy-duty equipment.
The board is trying to bring Tennessee counties into compliance with federal air quality rules that take effect in 2005.
Failure to meet the new standards by 2007 could result in an end to industrial expansion and large cuts in federal highway funding for the area, the newspaper reported.
Officials haven’t decided whether the limits would be in effect year-round, just during the warm-weather ozone season, or only on days when high pollution levels are forecast.
At its April meeting, the board plans to vote on a resolution regarding speed limits.
Cole said TDOT has advised against differential speed limits for cars and trucks on safety grounds.
The board will meet April 7-8, in the Life and Casualty Tower, 17th Floor, 401 Church Street, Nashville, TN. For more information, contact Amanda Sluss, director of public information, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, at (615) 532-0288.

12/1/03-Tennessee environmental officials are scheduled to meet in Nashville Dec. 10 to discuss such topics as lowering the interstate speed limit for large trucks in the state as a way for counties to meet federal air quality standards. The meeting is open to the public.
The state Air Pollution Control Board is recommending a series of changes, including making the maximum speed for semis 55 mph, down from 70 mph, to reduce the amount of ozone-causing compounds going into the air.
The resolution also suggests banning truck drivers from idling engines for long periods and requiring companies with government contracts to use clean engine technology and fuel additives for heavy-duty equipment.
The board is trying to bring Tennessee counties into compliance with federal air quality rules that take effect in 2005.
Failure to meet the new standards by 2007 could result in an end to industrial expansion and large cuts in federal highway funding for the area.
The board will meet at 8:30 a.m. EST Wednesday, Dec. 10, in the Life and Casualty Tower, 17th Floor, 401 Church Street, Nashville, TN. For more information, contact Amanda Sluss, director of public information, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, at (615) 532-0288.

9/10/03-The Tennessee Air Pollution Control Board is proposing dropping the maximum speed for semis to 55 mph, down from 70 mph, to reduce the amount of ozone-causing compounds going into the air. The panel’s effort also suggests banning truckers from idling engines for long periods.
The board is trying to bring Tennessee into compliance with federal air quality rules that take effect in 2005.
It’s not a bill yet, but it very well could be when the Legislature reconvenes in January. Call your state lawmakers!
Your state representative and senator’s contact information is available at www.legislature.state.tn.us/. For each official, click on the “House” and “Senate” links at left, then on “Members,” and scroll down to the bottom of the page until you see the yellow box asking for your home county. You can also call OOIDA’s membership department at 1-800-444-5791 and they’ll look it up.