On December 2, Illinois lawmakers voted by a wide margin to increase the speed limit for commercial trucks from 55 miles per hour to 60 miles per hour on interstates outside of urban areas. Chicago car accident lawyer Howard Ankin said the vote could result in more dangerous highways for suburban Chicago drivers.
The proposed bill was originally vetoed by Governor Pat Quinn. He also voted another bill that would have increased the maximum state speed limit from 65 miles per hour to 70. The truck speed limit bill came back to the legislature, where lawmakers voted 103 to 12 in favor of overruling the veto.
Mr. Ankin, owner and partner at Ankin Law, LLC, said that Governor Quinn got it right with the original veto. u201cTrucks are often responsible for accidents on our highways because they have blind spots and because they take longer than cars to slow down. Increasing truck speed will only worsen the problem,u201d Mr. Ankin said.
The law will go into effect in parts of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will Counties. The other law, which would raise the maximum speed limit from 65 to 70 miles per hour, would go into effect on the stateu2019s toll roads, if enacted.
Governor Quinn said he initially vetoed both bills because they would result in an increased loss of human life. He also said that the convenience of faster speeds on the stateu2019s highways did not justify the increased risks that drivers would face.
Howard Ankin said that heu2019s seen enough damage from truck accidents to fully agree with Governor Quinn on this issue. u201cThe damage from truck accidents is usually substantially worse than damage from a typical car accident. Trucks have so much more mass that itu2019s not difficult for them to cause serious injuries or even death.u201d
This view coincides with Howardu2019s disapproval of the legislation that will allow the speed limit to be increased on some of Illinois highways. He says that the increased speed limit poses a major risk that can lead to higher auto accidents.
Mr. Ankin and his team work with car accident victims to make sure they have the resources and compensation they need for medical treatment, time away from work, and ongoing care. He says heu2019s in favor of anything that makes Illinoisu2019s roads safer.
