KOTA Territory NewsWyoming lawmakers consider raising speed limit for passing

Wyoming lawmakers consider raising speed limit for passing

Wyoming lawmakers are considering allowing drivers to break the speed limit for safety reasons.

The Wyoming House of Representatives endorsed a bill Monday that would allow motorists to go ten miles per hour over the speed limit when passing.

The law would apply only to two-lane highways where the speed limit is over 50 miles per hour.

And the driver being passed must be traveling under the speed limit.

The bill's sponsor says slower drivers can endanger others on the road.

"I understand what he's saying," said Capt. Carl Clements with the Wyoming Highway Patrol, "is that slower traffic builds up, pretty soon you have a line, pretty soon you have a frustrated driver further back in the line who decides to pass the whole line."

But Clements added both sides have safety issues.

If people are allowed to speed up to pass, he said, it might be hard to decide when drivers need to slow back down.