Is Arizona About to Get an Autobahn of its Own?

"Arizona's state government is currently considering H.B. 2059, also known as the RAPID Act, a law that would remove speed limits from certain stretches of the state's roads. According to the wording of the bill, these would be "derestricted speed zone where no maximum speed limit applies to motor vehicles that are not commercial vehicles." This wouldn't be a round-the-clock condition, though - the lack of a speed limit would begin half an hour before sunrise and end half an hour after sunset."

"Representative Nick Kupper is the lawmaker behind this proposal. In a statement, he argued "[i]t will let us raise speeds where it's safe, keep tough penalties for reckless driving and update our laws to reflect how people actually use these roads." Kupper also introduced a separate bill this year that would alter the state's registration fee for vehicles powered by energy sources other than gasoline."

"It's a highway where speed limits are, shall we say, optional for long stretches of road. For drivers based in the United States, a road trip on the Autobahn can require a lot of work: buying a plane ticket, renting a car and learning at least some German so you aren't utterly baffled by the signage. But soon, drivers looking to legally drive on a highway with no speed limits might only need to head towards the Southwest."

Arizona is considering H.B. 2059, the RAPID Act, to remove speed limits from selected stretches of state roads for noncommercial vehicles. The derestricted zones would apply from half an hour before sunrise until half an hour after sunset and would exclude urbanized areas. Eligible roads must show crash rates consistently below the state average. Representative Nick Kupper sponsors the proposal and emphasizes raising speeds where safe while retaining penalties for reckless driving. Kupper cites Montana's permissive approach as an example and separately proposed changing registration fees for non-gas-powered vehicles.

Read at InsideHook