IDAHO — Starting Wednesday, semi trucks on Idaho interstates can legally drive the same speed as smaller cars.
That means on rural stretches where passenger vehicles can go 80 miles per hour, 18-wheelers can too.
Idaho Transportation Department crews coordinated a statewide push to remove outdated 70-mile-per-hour truck speed limit signs in a single day to avoid confusion for drivers.
John Tomlinson, communication manager for ITD, said the department met with engineers, crews, and foremen ahead of the law taking effect.
“So with this law going into effect on July 1st, we met with all of the engineers and with our crews and all the foremen and said, all right, this is going into effect. We need this to happen,” Tomlinson said.
WATCH Idaho semis can now match interstate speeds under new law
Idaho State Police says the basics of enforcement are not changing now that the law is in effect.
Trooper Brandon Bake said ISP will continue watching for speeding, lane violations, turn signals, unsafe lane changes, and other everyday traffic safety issues.
“We're still going to enforce our speed limits. We're going to enforce our Idaho laws. So that's maintaining your lane, using your turn signal, making safe lane changes, all of those things that we look for every day when we're out working,” Bake said.
Bake said drivers need to look farther ahead and give themselves more room to react at higher speeds.
“The faster you go, that's the more feet per second you're traveling, right? So at 80 miles an hour, you're going 140 feet per second versus 65, which is about 95 feet per second,” Bake said.
ISP says the responsibility stays the same for cars and semis: pay attention, avoid unsafe lane changes, and drive for the conditions.
Even though the new law is in effect, not every semi will be hitting 80. Some trucking companies use speed governors that cap their trucks below the speed limit, so drivers may still see semis traveling closer to 65 or 70, even where the posted limit is higher.
This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been, in part, converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
