This state wants to completely abolish some speed limits

Arizona lawmakers want to eliminate speed limits, at least on some stretches of road. A new proposal from state Rep. Nick Kupper aims to create “limited speed zones” on certain rural highways across the state.

Kupper proposes the Reasonable and Prudent Interstate Driving Act, better known as “RAPID.” The bill would eliminate mandatory daytime speed limits on highways in rural areas with populations of fewer than 50,000.

Speed ​​limits would return to 80 miles per hour at night – still 5 miles per hour faster than current speed limits in Arizona. Commercial vehicles would be limited to 80 miles per hour at all times, day and night.

Before the bill gains full passage, lawmakers are proposing a pilot project. A stretch of Interstate 8 between Casa Grande and Yuma would be designated a “speed zone” for a year to see how and if it affects crash rates.

Under the new bill, large portions of Interstates 10, 17, 19 and 40, as well as a portion of I-15 running through the northwest corner of Arizona, would also be designated as “non-restricted speed zones.”

“I fully appreciate that your first instinct is of course: ‘That’s crazy, you’re going to kill people,’” Kupper told the newspaper. Capitol Times of Arizona. “However, the data proves otherwise. And I want to do this pilot program to prove that we can actually do this and save lives.”

Will other states follow?

If the bill passes, Arizona would be the only state with unlimited speed limits on certain stretches of road. That said, other states have recently proposed changes to speed limits on rural highways, although none have proposed eliminating them entirely.

As of May, nine states have speed limits of at least 80 mph, some even higher. Just this year, North Dakota joined the 80 mph speed limit club by passing a bill that would allow 80 mph speed limits on certain stretches of highway in the state.

Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming all have speed limits over 80 mph on certain highways. Texas has the highest speed limit in the country, with a limit of 85 mph on a 41-mile stretch of Texas State Highway 130 between SH 45 near Austin and Interstate 10 in Seguin.

Lawmakers in Arizona point to states like Montana as evidence for higher — and possibly abolished — speed limits. Even with higher speed limits, states like Montana have not seen significantly higher crash rates.

The bill is expected to go to the Arizona legislative session in 2026.