Member of Parliament of Arizona, Nick Kupperrecently presented a legislative proposal called the “Reasonable and Prudent Interstate Driving Act”, better known by the acronym RAPID. The goal of this initiative is to establish zones with unlimited vehicle speed on certain sections of the country’s rural highways. Under the proposal, speed limits would be completely abolished during the day on roads passing through sparsely populated areas, those with less than 50,000 inhabitants.
During the night hours, a fixed limit would be re-imposed on those sections, but it would be 80 miles per hour (about 128 km/h), which is still higher than the current regulations in that US state. For economic and commercial vehicles, stricter rules are foreseen and they would be limited to the mentioned speed throughout the day and night, regardless of the zone in which they are located.
Pilot project and safety
Before the law goes into full implementation, a one-year pilot project is scheduled to be implemented, when the restrictions would be lifted only on one section of the highway. During this period, the authorities would closely monitor the impact of the free movement speed on the rate of traffic accidents in order to determine whether such a model is sustainable and safe for wider application.
Representative Kupper points out that he is aware of the initial skepticism of the public and the fear of an increase in the number of deaths on the roads. Nevertheless, he claims that the existing data speaks in favor of such solutions and that the pilot program serves precisely as proof that lifting restrictions can increase safety and save lives through better traffic flow and reduced congestion. His proposal will enter the legal procedure during the next year.