CA speed limit for commercial trucks! (poll)

Like the Saxon song Steel Wheels live at Wacken.
1995

 

And way back (in 50's) some of the roads, narrow lanes of 4 each, patches on top/alongside patches, were pretty well self policing. Especially at night in some of their massive deluge rains, well mixed with the oil slicks...

 

A recollection from my youth growing up in Cali:

The 55MPH truck speed limit was a legislative knee jerk reaction to the speed limit for trucks raising with the regular speed limit after the National 55MPH speed limit was done away with.

For a while the first part of the local news broadcast was taken over by the number of truck accidents in the S.F. bay area. It was not a question of if somebody died, it was a question of how many people died. Many of the trucks, as I recall, involved were the beat to crap local Port and delivery stuff that was not maintained properly. As drivers drove closer to the degraded limits of the trucks stuff broke and people died.

Unfortunately to raise the limit they would need a legislative action (State Senate and House) to change the laws. No real political interest for that.

The increase in the number of hours and locations of scale houses/inspection stations have helped to put a check on bad actors.

I believe with the B.I.T. program they have made progress towards actual safety inspections of Cali carriers. Every 2 years they can review the companies inspection data. And they are allowed/required to focus on carriers with not good safety records.

https://www.chp.ca.gov/CommercialVehicleSectionSite/Documents/O chp800h.pdf

Second piece that drove that legislation is the historically poor maintenance of trailers pulled by the general public, specifically the tires. We've all seen the crappy trailers folks haul stuff to the dump with. May be fine on a county/city road, not good at interstate speeds. Until the overall quality of these units come up, it will be difficult to justify changing the laws. The political push to raise the limits may come from the toy hauler crowd, but it will be a long ways off

 

I've only been there once. I did 55. Now that I've been at it almost two years, I'm more comfortable, and have much bigger balls. So I think I'd be okay bumping it up to maybe 56.

You know the border of Tennessee, where it's 65 cars and 55 trucks? I'm that sucker in the right lane doing 55.

 

55 for trucks preceded the national speed limit. When 55 was enforced nationwide, California removed the 65 mph and "for trucks" and left 55 signs up.

 

Because 56 mph has caused cancer in California lab rats.

 

Eventually they'll ban oxygen, I've never met a person with cancer who hadn't indulged in that toxic chemical through digestion and inhalation.

 

This is the state that doesn’t arrest for theft and gives DLs to illegal immigrants right ?