OOIDA Call to Action - Illinois members
March 9, 2009

Heads up: Illinois truckers! Three bills at the Illinois statehouse need your immediate attention. Two bills would eliminate the speed gap between trucks and other vehicles on rural, interstate highways. One more bill would increase fines for idling violations as much as 500 percent.

SB1467 & HB980 – Uniform Speed Limits
It is imperative that you take time NOW to contact members of the Senate Transportation Committee and House Vehicles and Safety Committee about these bills. The committees are scheduled to discuss versions of the uniform speed bill and excessive idling fines within the next 24 to 48 hours.

After years of failed attempts to have Gov. Rod Blagojevich sign legislation into law to change the rule that requires large vehicles to travel 10 mph below the 65 mph speed limit for other vehicles, lawmakers offered legislation they are hopeful will get the new governor’s approval.

However, the bills must advance from their respective committees this week or the effort will be dead once again. That is why your calls to members of the two committees are extremely urgent.

The Senate version – SB1467 – would allow vehicles weighing more than 8,000 pounds to travel 65 mph on rural interstates. The House version – HB980 – would do the same thing.

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association is encouraging truckers, their families and friends to contact members of the two committees to communicate the importance eliminating speed differentials.

They need to know that by having vehicles travel at or near the same speed, the need for passing, lane changes, tailgating, and other maneuvers that create opportunities for drivers to make mistakes is minimized. This isn’t physics or rocket science. It’s simple common sense that highway engineers have known and followed for decades.

HB2664 – Excessive Idling Fines
The bill to increase fines for idling violations by as much as 500 percent must be put to rest. It provides lucrative incentives for tickets written.

Violators of the state’s idling restriction law already face $50 fines for first offenses. Second or subsequent offenses within any 12-month period result in $150 fines.

The bill would boost the first-offender fine to $250. Repeat offenses would increase to $500.

As an incentive for local law enforcement to make sure truckers follow the letter of the law. For first offenses, the ticket-writing agency would keep 60 percent of the fine. For repeat offenses, the agency would get more than 50 percent. The rest of the money would be routed into the state’s general revenue fund and into a fund to educate truckers about the idling rule.

The message must be made clear to members of the House Vehicles & Safety Committee that HB2664 would skew the priorities of law enforcement officers.

Committee Contact Info:

For HB2664 and HB980: Contact info for the House Vehicles & Safety Committee is available here.

For SB1467: Contact info for the Senate Transportation Committee is available here.