SignalsAZ.com Prescott News Podcast - New Bill Could Bring Autobahn-Style Roads to Arizona

Episode Date: January 22, 2026

Send us a text and chime in!State Representative Nick Kupper (R‑25) has introduced House Bill 2059, the Reasonable and Prudent Interstate Driving (RAPID) Act, legislation to allow higher speeds on designated rural interstate segments while maintaining strict penalties for dangerous driving. Under the RAPID Act, the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) could authorize derestricted speed zones for non-commercial vehicles during daylight hours on qualifying rural interstates. ADOT would base its decisions on engineering studies, safety records, and highway design standards. At night, the maximum speed limit on those stretches would be 80 miles per hour. The bill also increases civil penalties for misuse of these zones. The... For the written story, read here >> https://www.signalsaz.com/articles/new-bill-could-bring-autobahn-style-roads-to-arizona/Check out the CAST11.com Website at: https://CAST11.com Follow the CAST11 Podcast Network on Facebook at: https://Facebook.com/CAST11AZFollow Cast11 Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/cast11_podcast_network

Text-to-speech audio articles made possible on the Cast11.com podcast network by Fane Signature Group. State Representative Nick Cupper, R-25, has introduced House Bill 2059, the reasonable and prudent interstate driving, Rapid Act, legislation to allow higher speeds on designated rural interstate segments while maintaining strict penalties for dangerous driving. Under the Rapid Act, the Arizona Department of Transportation, ADOT, could authorize derestricted speed zones for non-commercial vehicles during daylight hours on qualifying rural interstates. AdDOT would base its decisions on engineering studies, safety records, and highway design standards. At night, the maximum speed limit on those stretches would be 80 miles per hour.

The bill also increases civil penalties for misuse of these zones. The legislation requires annual safety audits of derestricted segments, coordination with the Department of Public Safety for Enforcement, and a public education campaign to ensure drivers understand expectations like lane discipline and passing rules. The first designation would be a one-year pilot on a segment of Interstate 8. Representative Kupper emphasized that most drivers can distinguish between crowded city freeways and wide open rural interstates, saying the Rapid Act lets us raise speeds where it's safe, keep tough penalties for reckless driving, and update our laws to reflect how people actually use these roads. The Rapid Act has been compared to Germany's Autobahn,

where certain stretches have no federally mandated speed limits, relying on drivers' judgment and road conditions to determine safe speeds. Catch up with more local news stories on signalsaz.com. Subscribe and be the F1 RSD2 No.