On January 1st, 2010, the state of Illinois repealed the split speed limit for cars and trucks of 65mph/55mph respectively, and moved everybody to 65 mph. This change excepts the six county Chicago area, which is wise.

The result is that you now have hundreds of truckers (myself included) quite gleefully doing 65 throughout the state. To say gleefully is not to say unsafely, for those of you wringing your hands about the evils of fast moving trucks. I will continue to quote to anyone interested in hearing that two thirds of car/truck accidents are the fault of the car.

Anyway. This change in speed laws has produced an interesting effect...or, rather, a lack of such effect. I had been curious to see how traffic would pace itself and how things would space out and bunch up as the local population adjusted to parity with we of the freighter persuasion. As it turns out, it appears that many (if not most) cars are still champing at the bit to get around me.

This leads me to wonder if the incidence of passenger cars cited for speeding will increase this year. In order to pass me so swiftly as you are, Oh Illinoian, you need to violate your speed limit pretty flagrantly.

The law, up until now, has granted you the de facto right to pass me at 10mph of difference...but now that the law is changed, do you continue to believe it's your right?

Is your sense of progress based not on your speedometer, but on your tally of passed trucks?

I wonder.

Having driven in states with and without split speeds, I'm beginning to form a theory, and Illinois will be a fantastic testing bed for the theory.

The theory is: Passenger car drivers in states where the speed limits are split tend to see themselves as more important than trucks. Restated: When the law discriminates between truck and car speed limits, car drivers look on the trucks as "less than".

I know that it's disappointing and sometimes nerve wracking to have a semi-truck blocking your view of the road; I drive a car, too. But there is a certain aggression to the movements of cars in splitter states that belies their contempt of the truck's existence. I exaggerate slightly to make my point, but the bumper crowding and lane diving and accelerator stomping I've witnessed in California, Illinois, Michigan, and a few other notables is pretty pronounced.

So Illinois is the control. It'll be interesting to see if this trend continues. Cars very well may speed where they hadn't sped before, just to maintain their "rightful" edge on trucks.

Maybe not.