Arizona Trucking Association Applauds the Passage of HB2288 to Improve Safety on Arizona’s Roundabouts
Phoenix, AZ – The Arizona Trucking Association (ATA) applauds the passage of House Bill 2288 (roundabouts; right-of-way; large vehicles), which Governor Katie Hobbs recently signed into law.
Roundabouts are becoming increasingly popular in Arizona due to their ability to improve traffic flow and reduce the number of severe crashes at intersections. However, they can also pose a challenge for truck drivers due to the larger turning radius required by their vehicles. Because the truck must make a wide turn, passenger vehicles often try to squeeze around the truck causing side-swipe accidents.
HB2288 does the following:
- Recognizes that a large truck cannot drive through a roundabout in a single lane. Therefore, HB2288 gives the operator of a vehicle or combination that is at least 40 feet long or 10 wide (large truck) the ability to use more than one lane to the extent necessary to drive through the roundabout.
- Requires drivers to yield the right-of-way to the operator of a large truck that is operating in the roundabout.
- If two large trucks are approaching or driving through a roundabout at the same time or so close in time to present an immediate hazard, HB2288 requires the driver on the right to yield to the driver on the left.
- Requires signs be installed before a roundabout informing the public that large trucks have the right of way in the roundabout.
“HB2288 will make Arizona’s roundabout safer for all drivers by establishing clear rules of the road and by giving large trucks more room to navigate in a roundabout,” stated ATA President Tony Bradley.
ATA is grateful to the bill’s sponsor, Representative David Cook (R- District 7), for sponsoring this important piece of legislation.
For more information about the Arizona Trucking Association and its efforts to improve safety on Arizona’s highways, please visit www.arizonatrucking.com.