Last week the news broke that the FMCSA is finally ready to create their proposed rule requiring speed limiters to be equipped on all heavy vehicles. This week the notice of proposed rulemaking was officially published and they are seeking comments and feedback from the public. The proposal contains some surprising claims, including that the FMCSA expects small carriers and owner-operators to make less money if the rule goes into effect, possibly forcing drivers to work for larger carriers.
Last week’s TruckersReport article on speed limiters was one of the most commented on stories in our community’s history. Whether for or against, truckers made their voices heard. Now the FMCSA is asking for comments to be made directly to them on their proposed rule.
You can read all 32 pages of the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking here in its entirety. The gist of the rule is that every new multipurpose passenger vehicle, truck, bus and school bus with a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 26,000 lbs. will need to be equipped with a speed limiting device. The FMCSA is also considering extending that requirement to not only new vehicles, but also any manufactured after 1990.
The FMCSA has not yet determined what speed drivers will be limited to, but they have put forward 60, 65, and 68 mph as possibilities.
Supporters of the proposed rule claim that mandatory speed limiters would improve highway safety and fuel efficiency. The claims of safety are largely based off of a 1991 report published by the NHTSA, but the FMCSA admits that “the concerns and conclusions in that report are no longer valid.” Despite that, the FMCSA does not plan to conduct a new study, citing “limited agency resources.”
One of the chief concerns among those opposed to the rule is that limiting heavy vehicles to a significantly slower speed limit than the traffic around them might actually making an accident more likely to happen.
“Highways are safest when all vehicles travel at the same relative speed. This wisdom has always been true and has not ever changed,” said OOIDA executive vice president, Todd Spencer.
In fact, even the FMCSA notice of proposed rulemaking admits that some studies “have found an increased crash risk when vehicles deviate from the mean speed.”
Some critics of the proposed rule claim that money, not safety, may be the main concern. While the American Trucking Association is in support of speed limiters, the Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association is staunchly against the proposed rule.
There is concern that small fleets and owner-operators could be put out of business by being forced to drive the same reduced speed as the mega-carriers who currently use speed limiters.
The notice of proposed rulemaking expects speed limiters to result in increased travel times. But small carriers and owner-operators can’t just buy more trucks and hire more drivers. Instead, the FMCSA says that they expect the freight which owner-operators won’t be able to handle anymore will be “absorbed” by large trucking companies. The net effect would be that “small trucking companies, especially independent owner-operators, would be less profitable with speed limiting devices set.”
Because of this reduction of profits, the FMCSA expects that some owner-operators will need to go work for larger companies.
“We expect that some of the affected owner-operators would work for trucking companies as independent contractors,” says the report. “If all of the affected owner-operators worked for trucking companies as independent contractors, they would lose $54 million in labor income.”
The FMCSA doesn’t see that as a problem however since “the agencies do not expect additional costs to the trucking industry as a whole in the near future from this rulemaking.”
If you would like to make a comment on the proposed rulemaking, you can do so by clicking this link.
If you would like to read the whole notice of proposed rulemaking, you can do so here.
Source: truckersreport, gobytrucknews, fleetowner, federalregister, overdrive, overdrive, fmcsa
Jon says
Giving 4-wheelers a greater sense of Entitlement increases chance of Road Rage or Risk taking at or around the slowest vehicles ! This happens every Day ! Trucks Do Not all move at the same speed even with Speed Limiters.
The loaded weight vs grade of Road and Split Speeds is like Farmer Brown on his Combine going to the next field while following Old Grandpa Jones going into town with a Rush Hour Highway Accident forcing a County road detour at the same time !
Every Driver having their own sense of need and Entitlement !
AT says
It’s not just drivers. Society in general has become more narcissistic, once you “get yours” it becomes “screw everyone else, I got mine”. We are told that caring for the sick, elderly, children, our neighbours and each other are socialist values (which is actually true) and pitted against each other in a winner-takes-all model.
Monopoly was created as a way to show kids the pitfalls of that type of society, not as a way to praise it.
darrin jones says
Why not a device based on GPS allowing the governor to adjust to local laws. For example if the speed limit where you are driving is 65, the device will govern at 68. This will keep trucks at safe speed. Also a software in it so it can adjust to road conditions, traffic, and construction etc. Just ideas to make it better for all.
Douglas Kirk says
Not a chance, dude. Why should we have to buckle under to every idiotic whim of a useless, waste-of-money agency. If the government can do your driving for you, then you should be able to fly planes or space vehicles by remote control, simply because it sounds like a good idea. There is no need for you to actually know what you’re doing….
Linea Elken says
So the cost of these upgraded devices will also be passed on to the drivers; it’s bad enough that they’re considering forcing all of the owner-ops & the small fleets to pay for & maintain the plain old speed limiters, but imagine what the costs would be for the slick one that you’re proposing. It sounds great on paper, but, ya know…
I’m getting happier week by week that I was forced to retire from driving when I did. Not long before I left, they changed the hours of service so that I was no longer allowed to stop & nap if I got tired, because they decided that from the time we started out & for the next 10 hours, I was working. No nice long naps anymore, so I was being forced to drive tired. Bah!! This is just one more way that the government is getting involved in places where they shouldn’t ought to be! I thought that the Republicans were for less government, but it seems they want the government to interfere in our lives more & more. They’ve taken what was once an enjoyable profession & thrown so many laws at it that they’re cutting off their noses to spite their faces, as my old Father used to put it. I wonder how much of the train lobby is involved in this new bill? They don’t slow the trains down, do they? They get to go as fast as the conditions allow. And there’s a lot of talk about trains moving the majority of this country’s freight as soon as they can convince the lawmakers to put the trucking companies out of business.
Pete says
I don’t believe it’s the trains as much as it is coming from the big trucking firms. They can’t compete, head to head, with the O/O so they have been lobbying Congress, for quite some time, to have speed limiters on all trucks in order to drive the O/O out of business. Hell, the FMCSA basically confirms it, although they won’t come out and offically state that fact. Their claim”it’s about safety” is a joke and they know it, as every study ever done confirms the fact that split speed limits, especially on two lane roads, make the roads less safe. The “comment period” is just a feel good measure to make people think that their opinions really matter. Well they don’t, the FMCSA has already made their decision and speed limiters will soon become law. I’m like you Mr. Elken, I was forced to retire, thanks to another driver that ran a red light. As much as I miss driving, with all the regulations anymore, speed limiters, Elogs, etc. I’m glad I got out when I did.
Ray says
The government really just wants to get rid of “all independents”! And, have every vehicle on the road load-jacked/limited etc and every driver on a “small wage paying” big company job with little-to-no say over anything that happens to his/her life.
Jon says
My Qualcomm has a navigation mode. If I am 10 miles over the speed limit , it starts talking to me. Even when I just passed the higher speed limit sign. GPS mapping is only as accurate has the human data coding the map.
Roger says
That’s fine but it should not be limited to specific vehicles it should be all or none!
Tom says
Stupid idea. I will retire if they further endanger my life with this foolishness. Cars seem to have been ignoring speed limits and taking more chances on the road in the last five years as it is. I don’t know if the answer lies in the way kids are being taught to drive in drivers education classes, but it seems that in the last few years, defensive driving has been replaced by aggressive driving. Nobody is taught how to merge onto a limited access highway anymore. The idea of picking a spot, adjusting your speed and respecting the right of way of those traveling down the highway has been replaced by im turning on my signal, so get out of my way, I’m comming . I have left one job because they tried to get me to slow down to 55 mph on a stretch of road that cars go 70 to 80 mph on a daily basis and the Illinois State Police don’t seem to want to do anything about it. I won’t stand for the government trying to zlow me down either.
Robert D says
Speed limiter I truly believe will be a end to the owner operator.
Accidents and casualtys will climb due to this. 4 wheelers believe they own the road and do stupid things.
Me as a O/O I believe when this comes into affect I will just hang it up. Think the driver shortage is bad now. All the guys with 20+ years gone and look what u have to look forward to. U got mega companies churning out unprepared and unqualified drivers now. I see stupid everyday and know the end is near for my beloved career
Douglas Kirk says
I wonder which part of the US Constitution gives FMCSA the right to tell ANYBODY how much they can earn? “Let’s take $54 million away from these guys, they’ll never miss it…”
Waaaaay past time to park the trucks and let ’em suck eggs….
DARIEN SANDERS says
That’s exactly what I was thinking. They keep using that word “Safety” because it makes everyone that’s something they care about when in actuality it’s only about the money.
Phil says
I agree..yes for speed limiters..on the cars!! Even in states where the speed is 70-75..cars are flying by trucks do 85-90..how about limiting their speed, and you’ll see a reduction in the number of accidents!!!
Ryan says
Wrong, it has been proven that in an area with higher speed limits there are less car accidents.
Ken says
Ryan,
I would be suspicious of that stat. Higher speed limits are primarily found in areas of less density, both in terms of population and number of vehicles. So of course there are fewer accidents. To get a fair comparison, we would need to look at rate of accidents, not just number. But even with yhat being said, even the rate will be lower there as well, just because there’s a lot less chance for an accident somewhere like Wyoming, where you don’t meet another vehicle for 5 miles, so it’s safe to drive 80. Put an 80mph limit on I-81 through Virginia, or I-85, Atlanta to Charlotte, and I dare say the accident rate will probably increase significantly.
Just a thought.
AT says
Could it be that -gasp- the speed limits are higher on more level, less busy and straighter roads?
You seriously think raising the speed limit to 75mph through the cross Bronx would reduce accidents?
mike says
show me the numbers
Ronald Reed says
Before these idiots make any more rules or laws they need to spend some time behind the wheel. Maybe after a couple months they can understand the problems they create with some of these half brain rules and laws.
AT says
And maybe after a few months of being pressured by multi million dollar lobbyists threatening to have us replaced at every turn would give drivers a reason for pause, if we switched places with politicians. Take the money out of the system if you want decisions made for the benefit of the population, instead of for the benefit of corporate overlords.
Amari says
This is yet another far reaching rule meant to put small carrier’s out of business,instead of doing a study and let facts dictate the truth,your using outdated studies and theories , some states like PA and VA very recently raised the speed limit for their highways cause the found it safer for all traffic to be traveling at the same speed . first with the hours of service and now with this rule why not just admit your trying to squeeze the small business owners out of business in favor of the big carrier’s.
Robin Cline says
This can’t be happening. The number of people I see driving by me with there head down texting or reading papers or whatever the case is astounding. The near misses they have due to slower traffic are way more than I like to see. It’s a sad day when the federal government wants to run the small owners out of business. Those are the very people that made this country. Now we have some pencil pushing, desk driving supposedly concerned bureaucrats wanting to take that away? Come on people wake up!!! I don’t think that the government really knows what this will cause. Safety? No. More accidents? Yes. More people out of work? Yes. More highway congestion? Most definitely. I for one will not drive in or around this mess. They trucking industry does need some safety updates but this is not one of them. The feds are getting ready to bite off more than they can handle and just may be straw that breaks the back bone of America.
Terry McInnes says
I live in Ontario where the trucks are limited to 105kph/65mph and what I see is drivers being more aggressive when trying to pass trucks. Time and again I see cars speed up as soon as a truck signals he wants in the left lane all because they don’t want to be stuck behind a truck going 105. Now lets bring in the fact we all will be on elogs in the coming year and see how trucks drive then. There have already been truck related fatalities between trucks and cars due to bad weather cause the driver lost time at his delivery and was following too close with his truck speed maxed out at 105 traffic came to a stop and the truck couldn’t. Speed limiters are for large fleets only to save on fuel, there’s no benefit to the industry or public safety to prove otherwise. Food for thought this also helps the states save money. No need to have as many traffic police out on the road if a third can’t go over the speed limit anyways.
Rutro says
I do not think that limiters are the answer. I worked for a company that had the trucks governed at 63mph, and pulling 52,000lbs minus the weight of the tractor and trailer, getting up long hills was murder. You might start at 63 at the bottom, but when you reached the top, you were going 30 with other vehicles either flying past or passing unsafely. These trucks need a little more to keep up with the flow of traffic putting limiters in them is not the answer. If truckers have to go get physicals every year, then people who drive more than 10 miles to work should have to take a driver refresher course every year, teaching them courtesy the road. Government in trucking needs to go away.
RickJ says
I drove tankers OTR for Schneider for a year. Schneider trucks are governed to 60mph. I discovered that going off cruise and holding the fuel pedal down the truck would run at 63-64. I didn’t care about overspeed warnings. I also drove jet fuel tankers locally in So. Fla for 6 months before giving up trucking altogether due to a physical disability.
The company for which I drove jet fuel governed its trucks to 68. An argument can be made in favor of limiters as it can be made against limiters. In my limited experience I’ve been able to tell that limiters aren’t really as bad as some make them sound. That limiting a truck to 60 mph is not a good idea from a safety stance, is a given. It’s purely a fuel saving tool. And I don’t believe anyone should sacrifice safety for anything, let alone fuel savings when there are tax write-offs in place for that very reason. I did not particularly like doing 60 on I-10 in West Texas where the speed limit is 80, but I never felt unsafe doing it.
I believe the argument of cutting down profits and making OOs work longer is BS. It’s all about pre-trip planning and some OOs are just plain lazy. They overextend overnight stops and breaks, and seek to make up time on the road. And that’s just as bad as any 4 wheeler driver doing the same thing, if not worse when considering the disparity of weight between an 18 wheeler and a 4 wheeler.
It’s all about habit and change. And we as a society are, by nature, too complacent and resistant to change. As a company driver, I averaged $1,000.00 per week in my 70hr duty week. Any driver who can’t live somewhat comfortably on 52K a year, with no overhead, is plainly living over his/her means and needs to go to college, and become a real professional. I did and I am. And before trucking I made roughly 85K a year. Want to talk about adjusting? Anytime.
Angelo Macaluso says
You make some good points, but then you show you don’t understand trucking at all. I am a truck driver with an education, but I love driving. Everything is not always what is seems on paper. Soon this industry will change or die. I only drive because I like it, soon I will probably end my time. Drivers need to stand up for themselves. Of course they never do. So this will go on until the new generation of kids make there way to driver age, and there will be no one left to do the job. I won’t let my boys do it. College or trade school period, no truck. Many of my friends have made the same rules for their kids, and to be honest, the kids don’t want to work 70 hrs a week for a 40 paycheck.
RickJ says
Thanks for your comments. I may not know all about trucking, but I know enough to know that despite my injury, I was not going to drive trucks for much longer than I did. I also love to drive, but truck driving was too hard of a life for a married man with a teenage daughter. I’m still driving now, but for myself and private transportation. I’m young enough still to go and make a million in entrepreneur endeavors, but I’m too old to work at a law office with crazy egos and personalities. Lucky for me, my daughter wants to be a chemical engineer.
Bob says
I made a $1000 dollars a week 25 years a go as a company driver. In today’s economy, $1000 is not great money. Wages in the industry have not kept up with inflation. There use to be an incentive to stay gone two-three weeks at a time.
When you combine the cost to eat reasonably healthy on the road, with taxes, you only net about $650 a week. Oh I’m sure you take home a little more, because of the great retirement ripoff called per diem. The only one that makes out when they adjust your pay with per diem, is the company righting your check. And it reduces your Social Security dollars paid in, which reduces your S.S.check when you retire.
Jd says
Elog ,speed limiters,etc. Time to park it and work for MacDonald. Why is there such a demand for drivers???? Well thats a stupid question!!!!! Watch store prices rise!!!
Dan says
Make sure that McDonalds is in Seattle with thier new $15 an hour minimum wage you can make more than you would driving for some of the bigger trucking companies out there.
shogun says
I applied to work for the FMCSA. My application was rejected when they saw I had actual trucking experience. Did the FMCSA forget the stats that show how small of a market share mega carriers have? The idea that they could pick up the slack for an owner operator exodus is humorous.
Jd says
Speed limiters on four wheelers, buses,etc.???Not just trks. We are a problem now around others.
Mike says
60,65,or 68 MPh I wonder how that’s going to work on i10 in Texas when the speed limit is 85 MPH there are going to be a lot of angry 4 wheeler and a lot of road rage going on in Texas, there are 2789 deaths in Texas this year and none of them was caused by a big truck, I am limited to 65-68mph and when driving those roads and passing a slower vehicle you get other drivers yelling at you sticking their fingers at you,and they pass you they’ll try to cut you off or run you over,so tell me how 60,65,or 68mph going to work for 3.5 million trucks, and half that number run trough Texas every day.
Trick1 says
Yes let’s cut driver pay more, it seems they have their supply and demand mixed up, just a little more squeeze to the little guy! And let’s triple + the minimum insurance mandate, this will crush them! ELD’s and speed limiters.
Government is overpaid over benefit packaged to big for their britches living high off the backs of the working Americans! Face it they are not our leaders or representatives any longer. They do what they want.
Let’s have a side by side comparison of deaths from trucks and 4 wheelers on miles driven %’s. I’m just in the mood for a rant, 20 years no tickets no accidents and the witch hunt sent me packing, I hung up my keys over a year ago.
Brace yourself, if the lawmakers stop making laws they would be out of work.
I send my condolences to all the caged rats trying to make a buck!
barbara hasenauer says
I hung up my keys 2 years ago… I loved my job driving long haul for 18 years. The changes they are making, for safety they say, is making the roads worse…not only should truck drivers rally, 4 wheelers should to because it’s making the roads worse for them also
John L says
My voice? our voice? they won’t hear. I called DOT and even 911 to tell them about trucks with bald tires, missing taillights, with no answer or effect.
They don’t know about the 85%. Or they willingly ignore it.
They will keep strangling the conditions, and suddenly they will realize they need not only 240K more truckers. They need 500k more. No problem, they can bring them from Slovenia, model truckers, European ones, white, blue eyes, beautiful. Nobody will complain.
Richard H Jones says
I think we have dummies working within the FMCSA. This doesn’t make any sense to anyone that has a clue and to expected owner operators to go and work for larger companies tell me everything I need to know about this proposed change and the federal government is in the bed with the larger company. They are basically trying to drive small owner operators out of business, which is against the law and we should strike or at least fight back.
Troy says
Really?? When are truck drivers just going to stand together and say HELL NO!!
shogun says
Wednesday I drove 60 mph and was almost involved in 3 separate fatality wrecks. The first was a school bus full of nuns, the second was a bus filled with supplies for flood victims, and the third was a bus full of paid liberal protesters. Today, I am running 65 and have not come close to a wreck. Imagine how many lives I’d save a 72 mph? I’m estimating that for every 100,000 miles driven at 70+mph, I will save 6000 lives a year. See how that works FMCSA? We all can make up abitrary and baseless stats.
Derrik B says
This is such a multifaceted issue I’m not sure where to start. Everyday it’s like watching a circus anymore the way this country is being ran. I think we all can agree that these folks making rules such as this one has not spent anytime behind the wheel of a commercial vehicle of any sort. I drove for a owner operator whose trucks could run 75 plus and I still got passed by 4 wheelers. This thesis of cutting us back and letting the average driver still be allowed to run how ever they want is flat out stupid. Now we have some bad apples out here too but on average who’s going entirely too fast for driving conditions? Whose speeding through work zones like a bat outta you know where? Who 8 out of 10 has some sort of electronic device in there hands while doing these items mentioned above? We all know what the answer is! It’s bad enough that are one of the most heavily regulated industry’s out here but yet underpaid. A doctor can leave his home in Richmond VA, drive to Baltimore MD and do 3 or 4 surgeries the come across the bridge to Easton and do several more surgies and if they need him to stay and work a additional 8 hour shift that’s legal?!? But if someone gets hurt from one of those surgeries due to the doctor not getting his or her rest than its no harm no foul. Tell me why there’s no squak being made about this. They don’t have a csa2010 or anything else to hold them accountable and make tons of money doing it. Just follow the money and it becomes self evident of the intentions of this plan. They state that the small guy to just pack up and go work for a mega carriers. The average driver whose been working for themselves for any length of time is not going to do this any they know it. So all the big boys ramp up their recruiting tactics because who gets a kick back from Uncle when they hire rookies? All the mega carriers do. A good driver is hard to find and the veterans we have out here now are a dying breed. Why jeopardize the lifeline of this country with some bull like this? We have enough on our plate putting food on your plate as it is.
Antoine S FINCH says
Richard Stockton said his goal was to make Swift the only carrier in the country this will help him do just that,with more trucks and a larger cash reserve than anyone else ,they can then drop freight prices and the other carriers won’t be able to compete,pure genius, wonder how much was payed to get this done
Mettech says
Reduce the max speed to 65mph. The kinetic energy is to high at greater speeds.
Many of the larger companies have reduced their speed 60 -65mph and it reduces accidents, reduces the severity of an accident and saves fuel.
Marcus Smith says
Using data from a near two decade old study which by the way was said to be invalid now is absolutely ridiculous. Look, speed is NOT the problem. Instead of wasting time and money on speed limiters why not pass a mandate on driver training. Trucks are already equipped with speed limiters but they’re not all equipped with properly trained drivers. Better enforcement of the laws for speeders would help as well.
kyonna says
The truckers coming together to make a difference? Yea right. This is a new generation of truckers, this is a new generation, period. Everyone is selfish, self-centered, egotistical with an inferiority complex. They would rather bend over and take it than make a stand. What happened to America?
Kathy says
Todd Spencer: ALL vehicles on ANY road are NEVER going to be going the ‘SAME SPEED’ for very long. Truckers bring every single person every single thing they NEED and WANT in their lives. It takes at least 10 Semi Trucks to bring all parts, products necessary to get ONE roll of Toilet Paper to the Store Shelves! Miss ONE TRUCKING STEP, and you can go back to using corn cobs by the Outhouse! Drivers drive 600-1000 miles per day to get goods to consumers (which includes YOU). Truckers NEED MORE SPACE, CONSIDERATION, COURTESY AND RESPECT FROM OTHER, SMALLER VEHICLES on our highways of America! Until they GET it….there are going to be horrible crashes, injuries and death. I am a 7 year Driver, and the ‘HIGHWAY GAMES’ that ‘4-wheelers’ PLAY around Truckers. It is beyond belief! It is DANGEROUS! It is DEADLY! People unnecessarily DIE because of negligent 4 wheel drivers, and their stupid and crazy driving habits. PLAYING WITH SOMETHING ELSE, instead of focusing 100% on D R I V I N G! Playing with Cell Phones, Papers, Food and Drinks, Kids, Clothes, Themselves Having Sex while ‘driving’….Truckdrivers see EVERYTHING that people in ‘lower’ vehicles are doing! YOU people and the people who make up these Hours Of Service….NEED TO GO FOR A TRUCKING RIDE. Sit back, relax, get your camera rolling and just wait and watch. Reducing the SPEED capabilities in Semis will NOT bring about more safety. Truckers OFTEN NEED to get OUT OF THE WAY of other vehicles. I PERSONALLY BELIEVE THAT LOCKED DOWN ON LARGE VEHICLES will cause MORE accidents, injuries, and death.
Kathy Rains says
Yes, John L, I agree. SLOWING down Trucks will NOT get the good to the store shelves. We WILL need many more Trucks on the road. Every Semi Sales lot, I look over and think: ALL of those will be OUT HERE within 6 months!? Truckers ‘Strike’ would be a good thing: but, only Owner-Ops can do that; most Trucking COMPANIES won’t let their Trucks stop rolling. Locking down Trucks is going to create MANY MORE Traffic Problems! GIVING 4-wheelers the idea that THEY ‘RULE THE ROAD’?! TOTALLY INSANE IDEA! The ‘Highway Games’ are bad enough NOW; they WILL get worse if this foolishness goes through. THOSE people in those ‘regulatory offices’ need to GO FOR A SEMI TRUCK RIDE…FOR AT LEAST 2 WEEKS as part of their training! And I mean OTR/48!…not a dedicated, local run! Whaddya think? I think it would ‘open their eyes a LOT!
KPW says
I get a kick out of the comments truckers make that they need to NOT have the governors installed so in a emergency situation they can accelerate out of the way. Well I drive for a living as well over 30 years to be exact and I have drove many different kinds of trucks. I have never drove ONE that if something happens fast in front of me that is has the blistering acceleration to get me past the problem fast. I find that keeping a safe distance and watching traffic is the best way to protect my 30 year no accident career.
I drive on the 401 and the 403 and QEW in Ontario and its very congested. Regular motorists are very aggressive and have no regard for the rules of the road and routinely take chances. I adjust how I drive on a minute by minute basis. If I am driving along and a car passes me and cuts in short but he is able to keep going I do nothing. If he jumps off at a ramp then he is gone…no harm no foul and I don’t even get pissed off. Now if he cuts me off and has no where to go then I back off or change lanes if I can. Its all about your attitude out there. Being aggressive and thinking you own the road will cause you to become less safe. The speed limiters have been in effect in Ontario for a long time now. I hated them at first but have learned to adjust how I drive. The governments and drivers can come up with every dam excuse in the books on why or why limiters isn’t a good idea but it all comes down to you. Are you a professional driver or a loud mouth cowboy?
My suspicions about speed limiters is that large organised trucking associations are in the pockets of large mega carriers and they have the pull to lobby for regulations that will advance their own personal business interests. Here in Ontario if you belong to the OTA the more trucks you have the more votes you have. So companies like CMF have the greatest say in what will happen to the rest of the companies.
Bitching and whining about it on forums like this will do no good. Surely with the driver shortage picking a carrier that doesn’t belong to one of these large organisations should be easy.
You hear guys talk about shutting down or protests and yes that would let politicians and law makers aware that we aren’t happy with some of these rules. Psst…all you have to do is block fuel terminals.
This industry is far from perfect. I’ve been at it 30 years now.
I drive a company truck and make 100k a year on a 10 to 12 hour shift working 5 nights a week.
In closing this I see the situation like this. Politicians will make laws to get the public to perceive that they are making it safer for everyone and that gets them votes and re-elected. People at transportation organisations like FCMA and OTA collect money from large carriers to run their organization and it justifies their jobs.
Truckers who don’t like the new rules get pissed.
If your going to go to battle with these people don’t go with half witted arguments about cars running faster or being able to accelerate out of the way faster.( your not driving a race car…it accelerates slow)
gather your facts and attack them with real statistics and not BS comments which unfortunately is mainly what I read here.
gearjamn says
Hmmm sorry to hear you drive a SLOW truck but mine accelerates its pushing 864 hp to the drives the other is 782 hp to the drives and I have actually MORE than once needed to accelerate to keep from being involved in an accident not of my making but by the 4 wheeler idiots out there. Maybe if you OWNED your own truck instead of driving someone else’s you might understand YOU CAN ACCELERATE at an alarming rate ….well unless you drive a company turd so drive your turd and keep crying these thing wont accelerate you don’t have a clue…… otherwise your comments are logical
Kevin Wittet says
Your comments just justified mine about being a cowboy. Yes my COMPANY truck is slow. Yes it cant accelerate out of the way in a hurry. Nor do I want it to. Do I want to own my own truck? Been there done that and I would never own a truck ever again. Let me see…I make just dam near what some O/Os make. I don’t sleep in a truck. I don’t eat disgusting truck stop food. My only expense is driving 20 minutes to and from work every day. After years of having my own and never being home I enjoy having a life and not worry about all the expenses and crap that come with owning a truck. I get to go to my kids games when they play. I get to see my wife every day and sleep in my own comfy bed. I have way more residual cash now to spend on things I like to do instead of worrying about replacing those drives or that clutch or anything. I don’t give a crap about fuel prices. I go to work. Do my thing and go home. I apologise for not responding sooner but I was actually on my boat all weekend at my cottage fishing…tubing…cruising and entertaining friends, none of which I ever had time to do when I had my own ( I actually owned 2 which a friend drove the other one)
Imagine driving at 60 mph all the money you would save and we could visit out on the lake.
So the way I see it…to each his own. You spend your money on your FAST truck …I will spend my money on my toys, family and having fun. Next time you pass me honk. I will smile and wave.
gearjamn says
Well unfortunately I drive 60 I get maybe 5.9 mpg but at 71mph and over I average 7.1 to 8.5 mpg and light loaded I have been in the 9s consistently so ???? Your point is invalid about driving slower if the truck is set up correctly and driven correctly you get mileage and not at some ridicules LOW speed but the actual speed limit . And you are right about the expenses and headaches. But every company I have ever drove for has been MORE of a headache than calling my own shots. Much rather have freedom than an ankle bracelet a company driver has….oh and when I go home I stay for a month or more none of this 1 day off for every week out starting when you unload …with them pushing you back out always before your home time is up. I sleep in a bed every night in my sleeper which I am fine with as it has a over sized sleeper and a kitchenette I cook nice meals in . I don’t have a wife because most are a pain and why limit yourself to one person , my kids are grown I go see them when ever I want as well as my other relatives which I couldn’t do as often if it were not for this job , traveling and calling my own shots. IF you like being home every night or what ever good for you but it is NOT my thing to each their own. Whatever floats you boat but for me, your boat has holes in my world and it sinks to the bottom of the ocean wouldn’t want to be in your boat and at 60 mph is the definition of tired , sleepy , and slowly going InSAnE
KPW says
Im glad you like your lifestyle..If that’s what you choose good for you. I like mine.
I don’t get forced out after a day. I work 5 days …some weeks but usually only 4 day as I make enough. So im home every weekend no matter what. I start when I want do my thing and go home.
I never see my boss..even if I screw up I only get a letter from him and its never bad…
Its really a dream job for company drivers and I will retire here.
My only issue with what you say and Im not critiquing your driving but here is my logic. Some of you say you want the power and speed to be able to clear a bad situation. When Im driving my truck Im usually moving forward. 99 percent of the bad situations I see happen in front of me Logic says this because we are looking forward most of the time . So it doesn’t matter if you are on a 2 lane ..3 lane or single lane road you see something bad happen in front of you. Is it logical to accelerate towards it hoping to get past it before it gets worse? I guess in some circumstances that would work. So two cars decide they have to have the same piece of the road and collide say 150 feet in front of you. they start to slide or spin out. You will have about .5 of a second to react and then pray your truck accelerates like a fighter jet to get clear. Cars could hit the brakes…slide to a guard rail and bounce off and come back at you…too many variables. To each their own. I will just keep a good safe distance and if shit happens I can stop or avoid in time.
Anyways…enjoy your day and safe driving.
Anthony says
The old drivers got weeded out and now this new breed is here. That being said now they can slide in idiotic legislation because they don’t know any better. Same thing with the pay. The demand is at an all time high but the pay is the same as 1996. Drivers tell me they donot care how the trucks looks they don’t keep them clean they don’t care if they break. 90% of the new drivers have no respect for the industry the just want to make more than they did working at a warehouse or the telemarketing job they had half never even rode in a truck. I started riding when I was 5 and started driving at 20 and never stopped to go do something else I love driving but there ducking everything it meant to be a truck driver right out of the industry. But there is hope because now the biggest complain is I can’t find good drivers that will take care I my equipment..lmao yea and you won’t putting you out of business. It’s all backfiring
AT says
It’s just dumb to claim that “90% of the new drivers have no respect for the industry” as you are blaming them for government legislation. Truckers ARE the trucking industry and you just threw them under the bus. Sounds like you have no respect for truckers, only yourself.
PS It bears mentioning that one does not have to start riding in trucks at age 5 to be a good driver. No one has ever been in a truck before, until they have. I see people like you as the problem. Condescending, angry, sneering “old timers” (some of whom are actually quite young) who don’t even know they’re mad at.
barbara hasenauer says
Will somebody PLEASE tell me why the ATA is for this?
AT says
They are a lobby group for trucking companies to corporatist politicians, not a voice for truck drivers. If this will increase the bottom line of their membership, ie huge corporations, they will support it.
mike says
All I can say is remember Ohio 25 yrs ago. Speed limit for trucks was 55 and cars 65. They had problems with this what are they going to do when speed limiters are mandatory. They meaning the four wheelers .
Stop the insanity says
Doesn’t matter what is said or what action is taken to try and halt the BS. They don’t listen anyways.
John Rodman says
I can’t speak for reefer drivers or van drivers or straight flat bed drivers I pull oversize. So some states already limited our speed or the fact that we can’t pull in to rest areas or move in cities from 6-9 am or 3-6 pm. Or after dark or when it rains,snow, get foggy, sleet or have football games. So why not limit our speed even further. There’s no better driving then too come around a curve an see 12 ft. or more. Setting them Quick stop required. What does all of this have to do with speed limiters. Well when we can’t make it to a safe spot to get off the road because we just couldn’t maintain a speed to let us make there. be extra careful when you come around that blind curve or over that hill.5 or 10 more mpa we may have made and you or your family may have as well.
Drew says
The ATA isn”t for drivers anymore so far as I’m concerned they are a major part of the problem & as far as any new so called SAFETY rules . I have one rule ???????? ?
Cherokee says
Sent my letter in against it and my reasoning behind. It will create a complete cluster on the roads, drivers have no respect nowadays and ride side by side for miles, that will compound the problem 10 fold. And honestly some of us will do it on purpose and run 3 deep all the way around I495 in D.C just to get the point across on how bad it will back up traffic and how many accidents will take place due to road rage, and I run the I95 corridor almost on a daily basis.
Anthony says
I smell the cast of the usual suspects…Schneider, swift, JB Hunt, etc.
George says
Yes, they do. The money talks
Elizabeth Hall says
U think there r wrecks now . Just put all trucks at the same speed and see what happens.there will be more cars running into the back of 18wheelers and of coarse it’s the trucks fault for going to slow. But the government set the speed on trucks so it is there fault.
Eric says
My two cents? Maybe we can get some of the boards of state cops out of the chicken houses and start enforcing laws already on the books. Seems most of our country has no idea how to merge or how to drive in the presence of large vehicles. I’m dumb founded by the lack of skill and the selfishness most truck drivers display these days. Romper Room has returned, but to the highway system instead of television.
EZmule says
Everyone knows that the slower vehicles are a hazard.
Fuel economy can be achieved @ higher speeds by adding one or more higher gears.
Simply put; “This sounds like an assault, against Owner Operators!” I only hope that, they stand strong & fight!
George says
Poor owner operators,they definitely want to erase them from the trucking business. The biggest company and their money will create new laws against them.
I think this is not fair 🙁
Troy Richard Donoghue says
I think it’s time to show our solidarity. We all need to slow down to 55 MPH, drive in the right lane on multi lane roads and snarl traffic.
Sal says
It’s just simple nonsense…. if they want speed limiters on trucks, same for cars vans motorcycles ,and buses….. and all should be limited to hours of operation as well.
Andrew says
As of today there are only 9 comments on the federal register. Once reviewed mine will be number 10. All of you posters need to comment there. Without our comments we will get what we don’t want and be the only ones to blame for it. It’s easy, the links are embedded in the article.
Dan says
The article says that the public expects drivers to accept lower pay. I didn’t think it could get any lower. With fast food workers demanding $15/hour, go ahead and see what happens. It’s too much responsibility for what we are paid already. If they think drivers are hard to find now, just wait until the mass exodus of drivers from this industry happens. We’ve been promised and lied to for years, told to just be patient and the pay will adjust. Right, adjust downward. They can shove it. There are a lot of drivers on the verge of retiring, but then they want younger people that they can abuse and dictate to.
gearjamn says
Time for CLASS ACTION suits against the FMCSA and the Federal government for DISCRIMINATION against US as Truckers as we have less rights than normal society and Discrimination against the vehicles we drive and the job we do. If you use speed limiters on one type of vehicle then all types must be governed as well as following under all other mandates. All vehicles travel on the SAME public roads to which we pay MORE taxes to use than any other segment of society they should by discrimination laws be subject to the same rules as we are. We pay taxes to USE the road but they ban us from the left lane…..they want to enforce laws like the 11 and 14 hour rules but yet they can NOT provide parking so we can abide by these rules at the end of the day. Its a catch 22 ….This whole thing is about MONEY not safety so lets make it about money lets take the Governments money for the subjugations they have caused and the hardships , catch 22 laws , and increased costs they have levied against us as Truckers and put it back in our pockets by suing the government for the discriminations they have done to us. Lets make them rethink the idiotic nonsensical ideas these mentally retarded policy makers do to justify their existence
Skirt says
Keep on pumping out those newbies that work at swift Cr England and prime, cuz when they wreck I’ll tow them! Hung up my OTR keys about two months ago, lost 25 pounds and am much happier. FMCSA has no idea what they’re doing. The only guys that are gonna want to drive trucks are gonna be the wrecker drivers! Haha.
I’m interested to see how they try and govern our old mechanical trucks. If there ever is a protest, sign me up.
gearjamn says
Here my post on the Federal Government Comment site
I am writing to address several issues of over regulation regarding trucking and the trucking industry. On the proposed speed limiter rules that have been proposed. We are tired of the FMCSA trying to justify their existence by forcing dangerous inept laws regarding trucking that will cause increased accidents , road rage , traffic congestion , increased costs , increased inflation costing consumers more money to buy products and lost revenues which will directly impact smaller trucking companies and the owner operator. The END result of your biased discriminatory laws will cause an increased DEATH toll on our nations highways. Accidents since the announcement of ELDs last year have already increased by 14 % plus or minus depending on who’s statistic’s you read. This increase is due directly to companies changing to the ELD logging devices. This figure will raise dramatically once it is fully implemented and speed limiters are added to the equation. There are posted speed limits varying from state to state if you have an issue then enforce these laws. Trucks governed at like speeds will cause congestion which in turn will cause accidents and the inability to speed up if needed to avoid and accident. And this does happen and more than you may think !! Every state that has adopted a split speed limit for cars and trucks have seen a significant increase in accidents and fatalities FACT !! Under discrimination laws you have NO RIGHT to govern one segment of the population by choice of job or the vehicle driven on public highways in which Truckers pay significantly higher taxes to travel on than the general public. Doing so constitutes DISCRIMINATION which is a constitutional RIGHT to NOT be discriminated guaranteed everyone no matter , job , race , title etc. by the Constitution of These United States Of America. We as Truckers have these same inalienable rights though the FMCSA seems to think we as truckers are exempt. To impose these restrictions on trucks all vehicles traveling on public roads need to adhere to the same laws governing trucks. These should not be limited to just speed limiters but all laws , including road use taxes , ELDs , 11 and 14 hour rules and every rule that governs trucking as applied to driving on public highways. The majority of accidents on public highways are caused not by trucks but by the smaller cars and trucks FACT !! Changing laws concerning trucks will not fix anything but only increase the problems. If you don’t use common sense by fixing the REAL issues instead of trying to think that by more regulations on trucking you will be able to fix the mistakes made by the part of society that does not have regulations placed on them but causing the majority of the problems then the FMCSA is the definition of IGNORANT. The FMCSA passes these laws quoting safety to get the general public to buy into their asinine ideas which in reality put every one at a GREATER risk !! The FMCSA should work on fixing the REAL issues in trucking not the self serving needs of the lobbyists providing kickbacks from the BIG trucking corporations wanting CONTROL or COMMUNISM/ SOCIALISM as I call it. The FMCSA should spend their time working on the REAL situations in trucking to fix problems STOP making the trucker responsible for EVERYONE else’s actions of which we have no control. Regulate shippers , regulate receivers , regulate brokers. Provide better training for future CDL holders…provide training for non cdl holders in educating them on interactions with large trucks… include this in the drivers manuals as mandatory education. Reeducate non CDL holders when their license renews about Large Trucks and the safety issue concerning stopping distances , cutting them off , road rage. But IF the purpose of the FMCSA existence was for public safety then these would be things already being done, the problem is the whole corrupt lot of them it is about MONEY justifying their job but its NOT about safety. So maybe US as truckers should make this about money too. It may be time we as truckers , truck owners , and small companies start class action suits against the FMCSA and the Federal Government about their discriminatory laws , their self serving interests , our increased costs due to incompetence in law making and take money for being discriminated against as a TRUCK DRIVER/OWNER. Use common sense instead of NO SENSE that you have been showing toward trucking for years now. Pass these laws and when the public sees increases deaths , congestion , increased costs of goods they purchase , road rage see how long it will be before YOU are voted out of existence. When this happens ,increased accidents, deaths , congestion , increased prices in consumer goods what excuses will you put on the trucking industry for your incompetence?? Because people will want answers
Dave says
They think this is going to make the roads safer but it’s not. Most companies govern their truck already and put all the safety bells and whistles on them. What they have not done is properly train their drivers. New drivers are rushed through 4 weeks of a training class which isn’t nearly enough time. They shoot them out with a trainer that might have his CDL for 6 months to finish training. It’s a damn joke to think making truckers all drive the same speed to be safer than just properly training said drivers. Look here they give these people trucks with all kinds of distractions like phones , tablets, E-Logs and more shit they don’t need. Take all those distracting systems and crap out and make sure the driver isn’t distracted. Make them put both feet on the floor and wear the proper shoes and TRAIN THEM HOW TO ACTUALLY DRIVE. We had 55 mph all over the country once and there were still wrecks. It doesn’t matter how fast or slow you go if you are not trained to handle the equipment. Make it harder to get a CDL by actually teaching people instead of letting schools rush them through with just the basics and you’ll see our roads get safer. Instead of making everyone put more distractions in their trucks. Are they going to pay us more money I think not. All these new “rules” are being made because some asshat that sits behind a desk think they can better do our jobs than us. They do studies on a computer but have yet to even sit in a truck. I remember 1984’s deregulation which was supposed to be just that less regulations but our government does what ever they want and none of what we say here is going to matter anyway. First it’s unconstitutional to force any who owns anything to put something on or in it. I understand you new drivers don’t get it because you already have all this crap in your trucks. Yet y’all still wreck. So how is this going to make anyone safer? You can’t mechanically add common sense to a driver. Leave our trucks alone and start enforcing the damn laws we already have instead of making new ones. Face the facts people NOT EVERYONE IS CUT OUT TO DRIVE A TRUCK. That’s why these idiots are putting all these so called safety things in their trucks. I don’t want or think these limiters are needed but more training is. I’ve had idiots back into me a was told they were trained to back up until they bump what’s behind them. Really that’s what they teach? I’ll take anyone in government for a trip so they can see it’s not limiters we need it’s more training for these new wannabes. Just sit at a truck stop for a day and watch some of these people try to park. It baffles me that they have a CDL but can’t back into a parking spot. I challenge some government desk jockey to get out from under their desk and come out here and see for themselves.
Tim says
The “proper shoes?” You lost me with that one. Are drivers wearing ice skates these days?
Jason says
How about the state patrol start enforcing the speed limits that are set by the states! I stopped in a Wisconsin rest area & was reading the advertisements on the walls. There’s a sign that says ‘you speed, you lose’! Not true, people are speeding all over this state & others & state, county & local police don’t do a damn thing about it! Setting speed limits on trucks is NOT going to slow them down in construction zones, it’s NOT going to stop them from tailgating in construction zones! If the owner of the truck wants his/her truck at a certain speed that’s fine. I’ve noticed over the last few yrs the speed limits are higher & higher & the state patrol are les & less.
Chris Dery says
More bureaucracy where it is not needed. If you think traffic is bad now just wait til these are installed. When does the regulation end. Why is it always more cost to the driver and companies and more regulations and restrictions. Never anything to to promote cost reduction or pay increases. Some may save on fuel, but time is money when your paid either by mile or a small % of the load.
JJ 501 says
Most of the back ups on a highway are caused by speed governed mega carrier trucks making roadways more dangerous.
Letrel says
Park these trucks because wasn’t for trucks dot want have a job so if everyone park these trucks they cant take care of there family enough is enough truck drivers
Letrel says
Go get you a job at home drives because what we make now you can go home get a job making the same and at home every night nit worth the headaches dealing with all these regulations comein up