Mandatory speed limiters are one step closer to reality now that the DOT has finished with its proposed rule and has sent it on to the White House’s Office of Management and Budget for approval.
The rule is a joint effort by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. While the rule has not yet been published for public view, interested parties are coming down firmly in support of or against the rule.
Both the American Trucking Association and Roadsafe America sent petitions to the FMCSA back in 2006 to try and get a rule made to mandate speed limiters in all commercial trucks. Since then, the ATA has been pushing, nudging, and cajoling trying to get their way. Back then, the ATA was asking for a mandatory speed limit of 68mph, but recently the ATA has announced that they think the speed limit should be set no higher than 65mph.
According to the ATA, forcing every commercial truck in the United States to have a speed limiter which prevents it from accelerating above 65mph would make the roads safer. To prove this point, they note that speed is a factor in almost 30% of all fatal accidents and is the primary cause in 18% of all fatal accidents where the truck was found at fault. While this may be true, some say that it will actually make the roads MORE dangerous to arbitrarily limit the speed at which trucks can travel.
One major concern of the rule’s detractors is the difference between truck speed limits and the speed that everyone else on the road is driving. Others point out that if a truck drivers needs to able to accelerate to avoid an accident or get out of a dangerous situation, they will be unable to.
OOIDA’s Executive Vice President, Todd Spencer wrote:
“To the casual observer, mandating speed limiters on heavy-duty vehicles might seem like a ‘safety silver bullet.’ Professional drivers know, however, that highway safety is not so simple.”
If the White House’s Office of Management and Budget approves the proposed rule, they will open the rule up for public comment and then send it back to the DOT so that the FMCSA and NHTSA can make a finalized rule. Then the finalized rule gets published and it will only be a matter of time before mandatory speed limiters become a reality.
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Source: overdrive, ccj, ttnew, ccj, thetruckersreport, thetruckersreport
Randy says
what IDIOTS!!! rolling roadblocks everywhere as 1 65 mph that is heavy will try to pass a 65 mph that is light going down hill than on the up hill the light truck will catch up they will run side by side for 10 miles remember when swift and jb ran the same speed trucks
mike says
I agree, it happens to me often so I just back off and pass or let them pass which ever , then go on with business.
Eugene howard says
That’s what I’ve reported to doing. I hate the governed drivers that wanna engage in a 2-mile passing battle with me. I just ease up off the accelerator and let them have it. I’m not gonna miss those 6 seconds I lost to him
Infosaur says
When you put in 500-600 miles a day, is a 2 mile pass really that much of an issue?
Heck, it took 20 miles to catch the guy and it’s the only entertainment I’ve had in an hour. Or should I just spend the rest of the day staring at his ICC because “I’m only 3 mph faster on an uphill”?
Big picture.
ScottSr says
Sadly you and I are the very few drivers who dont get worked up over wasting 5-10 seconds on helping another by not blocking him/her
Ken says
I say we do away with ATA and Roadsafe America!
vince says
They have no idea how much congestion and or traffic issues this is going to cause. It will put motorist merging onto interstates into dangerous predicaments because we will have no latitude to speed up and get out of the way. NOT SAYING SPEEDING, MOST IF US OBEY THE LAW ANYWAY. It just takes away our abilities to remedy an issue.
Moreover, there are so many trucks on the road trying to maneuver around another truck will take miles, and if they don’t think this will happen they should think again! There will be more road rage incidents involving cars and truckers alike and more accidents not only due to this but differential speeds.
When you limit someone’s ability to act to make a situation safer you will see more accidents………this is exactly what this rule will do!
Robert Normand says
I like the way they say 18% of all fatal accidents were caused by speeding trucks. They failed to say that 90% of those were governed trucks speeding in work zones or slower speed zones. Every one knows that most of the accidents are caused by slow trucks speeding in work and slow zones. I can’t tell you how many times each day I get passed by s swift driver or the like in a construction zone or residential area. They speed because they have no choice. I get it. There company expects them to do magic in a governed unsafe truck. My truck is wide open. I have never had a speeding ticket or an accident. I’ve been driving for 12 years. Hire safe drivers and let them do there job. It’s not the drivers is the company with the slow trucks that’s the problem. Don’t make the problem worse. I for one will not enter a state that has a speed limit over 65 if they govern all drivers. And I will push for every real trucking company and owner operator to do the same.
Joey says
They say speed was a factor in 30 percent of all crashes. Did they realize that the cars are usually the ones who cause us to crash?
mike says
the four wheeler involved in the accident,the one that caused the whole thing , is home eating dinner right now while you are on site filling out a report. The driver of the car is watching the news when a flash comes across the screen,” breaking news,10 vehicle crash on highway 15 killed “and the car driver says ,” Wow I just missed that one,” yet he is the one that caused it all to happen.
TruckerTwotimes says
It’s the four wheeler people that make the rules.
Paul says
Fmcsa,ata, is dead wrong. Trucks doing 65-mph while cars,buses doing 75-85mph is NOT going to mix. Rear end collisions are going to skyrocket. Also keep in mind when loaded you will not be able to even maintain 65mph. Hills slow you down,can’t use left lane another obstacle.Once again govt. over reach. How many fmca,ata people have drove tractor trailers at least 10-years to understand what us drivers are trying to tell them. Fmca,ata people just drive Honda’s to work they really don’t have a clue. People will die at a higher rate, collisions also. Fmca,ata just adding fuel to the fire. Can’t fix stupid.
Eugene howard says
Heck I’d be happy of they drove for ONE WEEK so long as they had to cross the Alleghenies or the Rockies at some point in there.
Robert says
This sounds like a recipe for disaster!
I’m not a Truck Driver ,but do drive along the same Roads in a Motorhome!
I have yet to observe a single instance where it would be safer to limit their speed.Especially to 65 MPH! The Gearing of Today’s Vehicles,combined with Load Weight and Engine capabilities just don’t fit.
They need to be able to cruise at 68 to 70 just to have the ability to maintain a reasonable speed on the existing interstates with the Hills and Mountain Passes.
Maybe there are some flat areas where 65 is appropriate but not on the majority of Roads in The United States or Canada.
It’s fine to suggest Maximum Speeds but it is Simply Not safe to impose Limiters on any vehicle licensed for use on a Piblic Roadway!
W C Legere says
Creating a rule or law is one thing – implementation and enforcement is something all together different. I would like to know how the “brain children” at the ATA propose this to be done? How will the fed ensure that millions of existing trucks will be in compliance and who will pay for these enforcement programs. States can’t even effectively enforce their own anti-texting laws! Will drivers be subjected to automatic penalties for none compliance or violations. Will it be up to the individual states (most likely). And would not a Mandatory national speed limit of 65 mph be more effective, safer AND less expensive all the way around? Oh yah . . . They tried that back in the late 70’s and early 80’s and how did that 55 mph prohibition work out? Limiting commercial vehicles to 65 will do nothing to increase safety on the nation’s highways. What it will do is force many independant owner-operators out of business just as the ATA hopes it will do. With the deminishing driver pool that the country already has . . . Good luck with that!
Robert says
You all are correct I drive one these limited trucks I am maybe the only one who will slow down and let the rookie going .05mph faster get by and it still takes ten minutes. Plus we are stuck with everyone wanting to g force themself in front …. especially on the on and off ramps. The rule will increase highway collisions and deaths I guarantee it. But apparently Forrest Gump is making the decision.
Mark says
Of course the ATA wants this speed restriction. This isn’t a safety issue at all, it is a wear down and run out the small independents that still are taking what they feel is their business. I own two trucks and do OTR with pneumatic trailers. Both of my trucks are set wide open. No tickets. No crashes. No safety violations. I can just see trucks all running 65 mph on I75 between Atlanta and Chattanooga. It will be a constant backup because no one will be able to get around one another.
Straight ahead rear end collisions will increase. Merging will become dangerous. You will not be able to move over to allow traffic on in heavy traffic.
This is a self serving wish list for the ATA.
Shauna says
Limiting the speed is not going to cause accidents, to say a slower speed which gives you more reaction time is absurd!! I have never gone the speed limit that is posted but slower and when someone is passing me I slow down some to let them around. I have always made my appointment times except on occasions where they did not give reasonable time to get there. I will tell you now, my sister was killed in a car wreck four years ago because the driver was speeding and had a front tire blow out, the car flipped throwing her and the car landed on top of her, she could still be here today if the lady would have been going slower because she would not have lost control of the vehicle!!
J Ossowski says
What if she had been wearing her seatbelt? Wait. That means she was, at least, partly responsible for her own death, doesn’t it? Can’t blame her for not taking the necessary, legally mandated precautions, can we? By the way, people lose control after a blow out at all speeds.
sudon't says
Speed alone doesn’t cause accidents, vehicles traveling at widely different speeds is what causes accidents. This has been studied by traffic engineers, not something I made up.
It makes sense, too, if you think about it. If 70 mph traffic comes upon one 55 mph vehicle, all of a sudden, everyone has to hit their brakes, or pass. Worse, if you have one passive-agressive jerk in one of the passing lanes going slow, he (it’s almost always a he) forces traffic to pass on the right, which is even more dangerous.
What we ought to do in this country is restrict the passing lanes to passing. Get slow-pokes out of the passing lanes. That right there would makes to roads a lot safer.
mike says
My truck is set by computer to do no more than 67 mph to achieve a 6.5 – 7 miles per gallon so this speed limiter control is actually nothing new but if they are going to do it anyway at least let it be done by computer program so when the truck starts acting funny it can be bypassed to make it run good then reset.
Moxie says
99.99% of all accidents involving heavy commercial vehicle are caused by someone other than those driving a heavy commercial vehicle. Speed has nothing to do with the accident rate; it’s the the person behind the wheel of a non-commercial vehicle that wants to play games with the big trucks that causes 99.99% of all the accidents involving a commercial vehicle. If there ever was a time for all commercial drivers to band together and stand up for their rights, the time is now. Drivers being paid by the mile have a right to be able to drive the speed limit, and for a major portion of this Country that is 70 mph, and in a significant portion of the Country, as much as 75 mph. As it now stands, the loss of 5-10 mph equates to a potential monetary loss of some $100.00 – $200.00 per week, depending on where you run. You know, with all the electronic equipment that has been mandated by the government, there is no rational for paying by the mile any longer. We deserve to be paid for our time, and a seasoned driver deserves at least $20.00 per hour. The time has come to stand snd be counted. Let Wednesday July 1, 2015 be our Independence day, may every commercial driver in this Country develope a case of the fifth wheel flu.
Michael Hofmann says
Soon you will all feel the heavy hand of the ATA and your daily task will be that much less safe and more difficult.
It’s also against the law for two trucks to run abreast. Think about that before you try and pass that similarly governed truck.
jc says
Fine! Let the rolling road block/convoy begin… I work for a company that governs most of the trucks to 65. I can’t wait until we give the four wheels a real reason to be angry. If they do this I’ll be the first to hit the left lane and hold up the show.
James says
Mine runs 67 and I have no problem with that. I know certain trucks if I can safely do it I will pass with no problem. I also know which trucks to not even attempt because I know certain ones aren’t going to be governed so I will back off. If this passes, they will then try and make it mandatory and enforce right lane only for trucks. How long after that we get blamed for more wrecks because a four wheeler wants to merge in NOW not caring if you hit the brakes you are going to be hit or if you have to perform a quick lane change you get hit or hit another motorist. In the meanwhile the impatient merger proceeds on down the road and wonders why they start seeing emergency vehicles going the opposite way or why it looks like a ghost town in their rear view mirrors.
TruckerTwotimes says
All valid points made here, this is the reason my nerves gave out and I left driving, that was 5 years ago, I can’t imagine what it is like now with the ever increasing traffic population.
Douglas Kirk says
You guys all know that the so-called DOT bars on every trailer came into existence because cars were running under trailers, right? Evidently it is the truck’s fault if it gets rear-ended. Now make all the trucks plod along at an unrealistic slow speed and see how many times a day there are major delays due to accidents.
Infosaur says
Just block up the beltway with a 30mph rolling roadblock in all lanes except the left (that would be illegal!) don’t allow traffic on or off.
If the police come just tell them you are demonstrating a safe, fuel efficient speed for the lawmakers.
Oh wait, 3mph would be FAST for the average beltway commute.
Donnie Hadden says
Ladies and Gentlemen, I do not believe this issue has anything to do with public safety. The available data refutes this idiocy. I think, if you look at the bigger picture you will realize that all of the current proposed regulations is an attack on small business. The owner/operator. Consider the amount of money spent to push new drivers through driving school, and yet the Truckers News Letter published that in the last quarter of 2015 the major carriers reported a 102% turn over rate and a 22% unutilized equipment rating. As long as you have the option of owner/operators and small companies with competent drivers able to travel without the speed limitations and elds, the big companies are going to have driver retention problems. So, the larger carriers formed the ATA to lobby for an “even playing field”.
The regulations that the larger companies want to force on the rest of the industry to even the playing field are self induced. As a condition for self insured status, a carrier must implement programs to demonstrate an active policy to reduce accidents and promote safety. Thus, they chose to slow their trucks down to account for driver inexperience and to use the elog to avoid the many confused log book violations. Now, they realize that the drivers they trained want to work, just not under the hinderneces of their company. If the ATA can remove any other option, ownership or small fleet, the available driver pool will have no reason not to drive for the larger member caŕriers. Think about it, most would chose a small fleet truck, unrestricted and paper logs, over a job with Swift who offers insurance, 401k, and a brand new truck.
I’m no genius, but I think everyone knows that objects travelling at the same speed and in a straight line don’t collide. Only when you inject a slower object do you have chaos. Memaw has a perfect driving record, however a lot of people crash trying to avoid her 45 mph a** in the middle lane on I 285. If it was public safety you couldn’t get around Atlanta for all the patrol cars, for you’ll rarely see traffic ,while moving, at less than 70 mph. Further more if it were public safety, why don’t you have DOT checking every log book crossing the scales. You don’t need more regulation to have more safety, you need more enforcement of what you already have. Pull Memaw to the shoulder and cite her for impeding traffic. She’ll complain to media, word will spread and just like dui’s and seat belts people will get the picture.
More rules will not make anything safer, only controlling the idiots will do that. The impact these new rules will have is to remove the most experienced drivers from the industry and cause more havoc on our highways. Since we can’t get eough unity to stop this crap I can only hope that when you get your 65 mph truck you’ll find the stones to fill every legal lane, perfectly staggered so law enforcement can see the nightmare rush hour is when the first two lanes are 10 to 15 mph slower than everyone trying to get on and off the highway. Buy dash cameras and email each days video to you congressman.