Michigan legislation heard in a state House committee Tuesday would generally ban semi-trucks from driving in the left-most lane of a three-or more lane freeway.
That’s a shift from current law, which requires large vehicles to use the two right lanes instead of outright banning them from that left lane.
Representative Will Bruck (R-Erie) sponsors the legislation. He said he wants to make it safer to drive near big trucks.
“You know that they’re passing, they want to pass around slower vehicles. But then they tend to get stuck in that left lane and then they cause a hazard themselves to other traffic trying to get back to the right. And so, this would free up that left lane, allow traffic to flow more smoothly as well as safely,” Bruck told the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
This is Bruck’s second time trying to pass such legislation.
A similar bill last legislative session made it out of the House of Representatives with bipartisan support. But it died in the state Senate during the final days of the year.
Bruck said the Michigan Department of Transportation and State Police were among his partners in the effort.
“I worked with MDOT and MSP quite a bit last session to get the language correct and to get their stakeholder involvement in this bill set, and to make sure they were okay with the language and the reasoning for it really has to do with flow of traffic and safety,” Bruck said.
During Tuesday’s committee, MDOT remained neutral on the bill without testifying. MSP did not offer a public stance. Though the bill did gain the support of the Michigan Trucking Association.
If the bill passes, the House Fiscal Agency estimates around 120 new signs would need to go up to mark the change.
Bruck said the next state budget could account for that.
“It’s actually been put in as a request. My knowledge is about $250,000 or something for an appropriation in the budgetary process, I was just told that this morning, in place for putting up signage,” Bruck said.
