SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Going with the flow of traffic will finally be a reality for truckers after years of contending with split speeds on Illinois highways.

Members of the Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA), which represents professional truckers, are glad the Illinois governor signed a new law to raise the speed limit for trucks to 65 mph.

“This will no doubt bring an improvement to highway safety by reducing unsafe interactions between cars and trucks that previously operated at significantly different speeds,” said Todd Spencer, executive vice-president of OOIDA.

The Illinois Senate voted in May 2009 to approve a bill that would allow vehicles weighing more than 8,000 pounds to travel 65 mph on highways outside Chicago.

The bill – HB3956 –exempts the five surrounding “collar” counties from the rule change. House lawmakers approved the bill in early spring. The bill was signed into law by Gov. Pat Quinn on Aug. 14 and goes into effect January 2010.