One of the primary objections to a mandatory speed limiter law is that it would actually put truck drivers in danger. Supporters mostly refuse to discuss the issue, dismissing it out of hand or preferring instead to talk about fuel economy, and it seems there may be a good reason why.
A judge in Canada – where speed limiters are already mandatory in Ontario and Quebec – has admitted that they put drivers “in physical danger,” but claims that the societal benefits outweigh the safety of truckers.
The claim came as part of a ruling that kept a 2009 speed limiter law in place in Ontario. A challenge to the law was issued after a trucker set his speed limiter to 68 mph, higher than the mandated 65 mph. After he was issued a citation, he decided to go to court over it, starting a 6 year legal battle.
In his decision, Judge P. Lauwers writes that speed limiters in some situations can put drivers “in physical danger,” and elsewhere notes that the rule mandating them “minimally impairs…the right to security of the person of truck drivers.” Despite this however, he concludes that “the public benefits associated with improved highway safety exceed the detrimental effects on the truck drivers.”
With the issue of mandatory speed limiters being debated so hotly here in the US, it may be interesting to note which side this Canadian ruling helps out more; the drivers concerned for their safety and the safety of those around them, or the carriers hoping to exert a little more control over their drivers.
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Source: overdrive, ccj, cbc, 640toronto
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Well good to know we are expendable. After all can’t consider truckers human beings. Speed limiters are dangerous period.
the most dangerous driver on the road is a driver that has had his or her control taken away from them by a carrier or a government agency.
Speed limiters are definitely dangerous.
I agree.
The most dangerous drivers on the road are those who hold the rest of the driving public in contempt and disregard the laws of the road as well as the simplest rules of roadway etiquette. They are too concerned with their own matters that they forget where they are, or they stop caring about safety in general in favor of trying to get ahead of everyone else.
Speed limiters, like the phone laws, seemed like a good idea on the surface, but if it doesn’t apply to everyone out there, it doesn’t do anything but set obstacles for some and dangerous driving conditions for others.
Speed limiters…. One for ALL, or NONE at all.
Truckers aren’t the ones in danger…The motoring public is!!!! In some areas of the country where the speed limit is between 80 and 85 MPH some trucks are running 62 MPH. That poses a huge danger to 4 wheelers especially those that text and drive, not paying attention to what’s in front of them.
Instead of making them safer by making them go slower, they’re making them into obstacles, the most dangerous thing on any road!
If they want to see some real danger maybe they should drive the freightliner cascadia automatics. I drove one to Illinois and there was only 4″ of snow and I had to be towed out of the snow 5 times before I said screw it and went to a hotel for the night.
even in the rain the wheels spin. Its pathetic!
My truck is set to 65mph and I find myself in everyone’s way trying to pass Canadians or other slow trucks. Sometimes I wonder if my life is in danger because people in cars get upset over the big truck in their way. It used to be I’d get the middle finger now I wonder if I’m gonna have a gun fight on the expressway.
No one is protecting us. Never has and never will be…
Keep listening to Rush Limbaugh and undermining the unions and that is what you get…
Ahhh, remember the good ole’ days of trucking? Freedom of the open road. Back when Aerodyne Kenworth Cabovers roamed the earth. A man could buy one and make a decent living. He was his own boss. Taking the loads he wanted, rejecting the ones he didn’t. It was HIS truck and HIS business. But now everybody wants to be an owner-operator for some big company. So many that the big companies now have all the power. Power over the drivers and power through the government. It has little to do with safety and everything to do with control. Controlling everything from how we work to our healthcare. Taking our money and spending it THEIR way. And allowing nameless, faceless people, who’ve never even been in a truck to make decisions like speed limiters.
I drove a Ryder truck the other day with a 64 mph limiter. I’ve never been so sleepy in my life…IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY!!! Bored to tears just watching the traffic go by on my left like a freight train. Get over to let someone merge? Forget about it. Even if I could, I’d never get back to the right.
You should get screened for sleep apnea… Going faster does not make a person more alert or rested, in fact quite the opposite.
no he does not have sleep apnia .He like all other truckers agree that going slower then the flow of traffic makes you at risk to have some idiot in a four wheeler doing 80 mph, which is the average speed they going,run into your rear if you change lanes. Now if you ride in the second lane you are ok because all the other trucks are riding there.Oops you have to get off at the next exit,forget it .Those brainless people driving those fourwheelers are gonna let you do that either.
If you’re behind me and fail to see a 13 and a half foot obstacle enter your path, it’s not my fault.
This is why car makers have to put “brake assist” in cars now, people are too stupid to watch the road.
It’s true.Long gone are the Chris Christopherson days of trucking. The hardest part of my job is keeping up with all the “company crap” they want you to do.ie. put orange cones out,wear safety vest,punch in mileage every time you stop,honk before backing,call customers,run a scan gun,let them inspect your trailer,before you put it in the drop yard, smart phone log makes you take a break,in cab cameras,governed at 62mph,weigh stations every hour or two,suprise drug tests,having to wear a uniform.etc…. Actually driving is the easiest part. Start to feel like im in the Army again
The only time I would pull over to let someone is another big truck they can’t get up to speed fast 4wheelers no I won’t I there are some real long merge lanes that a 4 wheeler can get safely out no they slam on the brakes at the end of the merge because they don’t get up to speed they putt along then if you do get over they will drag race you and other cars are passing you on the right side if you can’t merge when you have lots of time to get out then just stay home we all would be much safer
I’ve said it till I’m blue in the face-the more you bend over, the farther they will stick it in. As long as nobody stands up to this crap it will keep happening. Time to park ’em, boys and girls.
Amen.
I’ve long been in opposition of ELDS and speed limiters. But as this is nearing to happen I have given some thought to this. We all know that when there is a shortage of trucks, the rates go up. These new mandates combined with an already existent driver shortage might just play into our hands. Personally I would much rather make more and work less. Of course company drivers and lease drivers won’t see a bennifit. As for me I’m curious to see what will happen. Might be some light at the end of this tunnel for those of us who run our own authority. All I know is what my experience has taught me. Slower trucks means less capacity. Less capacity means more demand. More demand = higher rates. Let’s just wait and see.
Go back and think about that some more. You have seen all the exceptions the FMCSA is giving companies. They will fix that fewer truck problem with more unqualified drivers and have more control over you.
Do we truck drivers really need to speed? I find it more enjoyable with a limiter. I can stop faster than those going 70 or 80. I have faster reaction time… And by the time you’re putting your brakes on it’s too late. Have fun.
You don’t have drive fast just because you can. I don’t. Tires are only rated for 75 mph. A couple go to 82, but they are few.
The only reason why the ATA is pushing for speed limiters in this country is to take away any advantage the owner-operator or independant has against the field to increase the large carrier market share. If you think it has anything to do with safety your an idiot!
Well, alright then. Let’s mandate them for four-wheelers.
Yes!!!
I was behind a driver this week who was trying to pass another driver, they were both going about 64 to 64.5, it took at least 10 minutes to pass and the 4 wheeler directly behind the driver give the driver his middle finger out his window. 4 wheelers just don’t know that it’s not the drivers fault, it’s the driver’s company causing the delay. What if the 4 wheeler had a gun, he might have shot that driver. Speed limiters should be used for new drivers and that is it. Limiters put drivers in dangerous situations and piss off the public.
Hmmm…and the reason that a truck needs to pass another who is going 1/2 mph slower than her truck is…??? I’ve often just backed off that 1/2 mph & kept the road safer. Or, if another truck decided they really needed to pass me to get that 1/2 mph advantage, I’ve been known to back off the accelerator to let them by quicker, as long as there isn’t any traffic behind me.
When you put in 9 hrs./540 mi. in a day, what’s 10 minutes?
And the ungoverned 4wheeler can make it up if he’s in such a hurry.
Maybe it’s time for 4 wheelers to have to log their hours. Maximum of 4 hours of driving a day. Certain permits for extended hours can be aquired. Random searches of vehicles, log book should be readily available at all times.4 wheeler Routes inspected and speed limiter adjusted acordingly
Truckers lives matter