FMCSA renews proposal for speed limiters on large trucks and buses
Washington — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is moving forward with – and seeking comment on – a proposed rule that would require the installation of speed-limiting devices on trucks, buses and multipurpose passenger vehicles weighing more than 26,000 pounds.
According to an advance notice of supplemental proposed rulemaking published in the May 4 Federal Register, the proposal expands upon a 2016 joint proposal from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and FMCSA. The latter is the sole agency listed on the proposed rule, which doesn’t specify a top speed. The 2016 proposed rule suggested capping speeds at 60, 65 or 68 mph.
FMCSA offers a number of questions on which stakeholders may comment, including:
- What percentage of the commercial motor vehicle fleet uses speed-limiting devices?
- If in use, at what maximum speed are the devices generally set?
- What training or skill sets are needed for motor carriers’ maintenance personnel to adjust or program electronic engine control units to set speed limits?
- What equipment or tools are needed to adjust or program/reprogram ECUs? How long would the process take, and where can it be completed?
- Since publication of the notice of proposed rulemaking in 2016, how has standard practice or technology changed as it relates to the ability to set speed limits using ECUs?
The American Trucking Association backs the proposed rule.
“ATA is pleased that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is pursuing a constructive, data-driven approach to the issue of truck speed limiters in its latest proposal,” ATA President and CEO Chris Spear said in a press release. “We intend to thoroughly review FMCSA’s proposal, and we look forward to working with the agency to shape a final rule that is consistent with our policy supporting the use of speed limiters in conjunction with numerous other safety technologies.”
Citing data from NHTSA’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System showing that fatal large-truck crashes involving speeding climbed around 50% from 2009 to 2019, the safety advocacy group Citizens for Reliable and Safe Highways said the rule “has the potential to save hundreds of lives every year.”
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In May 2021, Reps. Lucy McBath (D-GA) and John Katko (R-NY) introduced legislation (H.R. 3523) that would require the transportation secretary to mandate speed-limiting technology in large CMVs while capping their speed at 65 mph – or 70 mph for vehicles equipped with adaptive cruise control and automatic emergency braking. The bill hasn’t advanced past the House.
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, meanwhile, contends that the bill will negatively impact safety.
“Studies and research have already proven what we were all taught long ago in driver’s ed classes, that traffic is safest when vehicles all travel at the same relative speed,” OOIDA President and CEO Todd Spencer said in a press release. “Limiting trucks to speeds below the flow of traffic increases interactions between vehicles, which can lead to more crashes.”
Comments are due June 3.
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Title
May 11, 2022
I've been driving a commercial vehicle since 1972 do you different speed limit walls for vehicles especially on the interstate is a very dangerous situation because you have trucks running 6065 mph and you got cars running 80 mph I seen a lot of accidents and a lot of states with the difference of the speed limits so I think you going to be creating a situation here you're complaining about accidents now wait till you differ the speed limit between commercial vehicles and personal vehicles the accident rate is going to go out of this roof
Title
May 12, 2022
It will create more speeding tru work zones. If you can't go a little faster it will cause long backed up traffic trying to pass another truck. It is not a good idea.
Title
May 12, 2022
How many law makers have driven an 18 wheeler? I bet the answer is ZERO. Why should someone be allowed to dictate this speed if they have never experienced the ride.
Title
May 12, 2022
I have been driving a semi for a little over 1 year now. I have found out that if you can't at least travel at the speed of the traffic around you or you move over to pass another vehicle on the interstate you better be able to get around them if not traffic will find a way to get around you and that makes for dangerous situations. I've moved over to pass and just had moved over and another vehicle has come racing up and wedging their way between the front bumper of my truck and the bumper of another vehicle and just missing us by only inches because they have NO patience traveling with or behind tractor-trailers.
Title
May 13, 2022
Putting speed limiters set as low as that is a bad idea. At the very least, the limiters should be equal to the highest speed limit on the interstate highway system. There is a section of I-85 near me with a 70 MPH speed limit. I seem to recall some in Colorado (?) with a 75 MPH limit.
A bigger issue in my opinion is that few if any such vehicles have air bags. We had two employees get very severe injuries because of that. The manager of my employer's fleet could not find ~any~ heavy trucks so equipped.
Title
May 14, 2022
No estoy de acuerdo por que si hay demasiadas regulaciones para los camiones no se hace nada por regular a los conductores de carros particulares ellos son el verdadero peligro en las carreteras
Title
May 14, 2022
This is a horrible ideal. The reason there are more crashes is because of of the damn electronic book. Which is making all owner operators speed. I’m totally against this ideal.
Title
May 14, 2022
Been driving since 1978 if you going to put speed limits on trucks then you better put them on all wheeled vehicles or you will be seeing an increase in accidents and fatalities because if a car can go faster 100% guaranteed they will. This is a bad idea and it has been tried before with trucks at one speed cars at another it took the authority some time to figure that out before deciding to do away with split speed limits. This has nothing to do with keeping the traveling public safe this is all about control.
Title
May 15, 2022
Speed limiters will only cause more wrecks and have more 4 wheelers doing unsafe acts to get around semi's. This would be one of the most unsafe things you guys could do
Title
May 17, 2022
Speed limits should be by freeway or highway condition not by state law or fmsca laws. For example, Arizona and New Mexico and some other state freeway conditions are not safe for 75 but some states, for example, Texas , Utah, and many other states have safe enough conditions to drive 75.
Title
May 17, 2022
Speed limiter is not a safety thing ! You know it, I know it, everybody knows it. This is money thing and for FMCSA to ignore the safety part of this should be a shamed of themself. The ATA don’t have to drive threw this stuff you don’t have to put up with what “we drivers” have to put up with. Speed limiter is going to make things worse ! And if you are going to go with it .I would go 75 ,do to truck tires are rated at that.
Title
May 18, 2022
On the surface the speed limiters added to trucks may seem to have merit. The problem is that it does not take into consideration road grades or load weights hauled in trucks. These variables will cause back up and frustrations in travel lanes. Drivers will attempt to pass without some additional speed there will be more side by side trucks for miles attempting to overtake.
My current unit is set set to 70, but that allows to clear other traffic that may be grouped up due to extended packs in driving lanes.
Cars are very aggressive around trucks that have extended slow passing attempts. On NYS THRUWAY I witness near collision events weekly. These collision are related to cars that are not keeping distance or attempting to pass on the right.
Every road trip a person can find examples of why speed limiters would add to frustration and road rage events.
Title
May 23, 2022
Speed liters on Semi Trucks are a bad idea. Two vehicle(s) not able to change speed in an emergency and call upon it power in some cases can kill people. I have had my life saved by truck drivers who did not have their speed regulated. You people who do not drive Trucks need to do more research on this. Have a good day.
Title
May 26, 2022
vehicles going different speeds, its absoluting nuts........who likes it...i sure dont....makes roads more dangerous
Title
May 29, 2022
they are so many things wrong with these speed limit limiters. I think they are more dangerous than helpfull. As of this writing , most trucks are allready govern at 70 mph. Here, in Phoenix AZ. I can tell you that this is a major problem. Trucks running at or about same speed tack forever to pass one another causing a long line of cars that can and do run our speed of 75 or 80 mph. This causes cars to do stupid things and take unneccesary risks taht puts everone in danger. I see it every day & night. Also, we cannot manuver accordiingly in traffic merges where if we could accellerate, we can negate a problem. ( cars drivers do not merge well ). As professional drivers we can control traffic better if we have the equipment to do so. One more item. Truck drivers get paid by the mile,therefore a 65 mph truck can not make the money that a 75 mph can. No matter how much you try to control human time at the wheel, everyone does it at their own human clock. Over the road driver are not your normal people. Why don't you just let them do their their way and record the trucks & drivers performance. There, you will see what each indevidual driver does, and fined them accordingly. I don't see how people can put alldrivers in one box and tell them when to drive or sleep. All if you need to drive with an owner operator for a year to know what it really takes to do this job safely.
Title
May 31, 2022
This idea makes NO sense.
Trucks are involved in less than 10% of accidents.
As a driver, the possibility of MORE accidents are prevented by professionals recognition of poor driving patterns of the surrounding motoring public.
As US (truck drivers) drive the highways of America WE see cars, pickups, suv's, etc preoccupied with all sorts of distracted activity. Some include but not limited applying makeup, texting, making sandwiches, putting on eyelashes, rolling cigarettes, reading magazines, and more. The LEFT lane is designated for cars operating faster than the flow of traffic. When there are 3 lanes moving in one direction TRUCKS ARE PROHIBITED FROM USING THE LEFT LANE. That said, perhaps the enforcement of highway laws is the true issue of concern. The idea of governing trucks is a strange aim at the wrong target. If the aforementioned is taken into account, the question stands WHY AREN'T MOTOR VEHICLES ALL BEING LIMITED?
Title
May 31, 2022
Speed limiters on the heavy duty trucks would be a horrible idea, imagine the congestion sparking more road rage what about the long line of trucks creating unsafe conditions entering or exiting the freeway. This would be a huge mistake!!
Title
May 31, 2022
Electronic logging devices were supposed to make the highways safer, it failed! In theory limiting trucks will make the highways safer but large companies that have limited their trucks, Swift, Schneider, JB Hunt, Werner, and Crete Carriers, found that limiting the speed of the trucks has/did not decrease the number or severity of accidents. It's common sense that when a 2,000 pound vehicle tangles with a 26,000 pound vehicle, the heavier vehicle will win. Speed limiters will make the highways more dangerous, drivers of cars get too aggressive around truck as it is. After being stuck behind 2 trucks that are traveling 1 to 5 mph faster than the other, drivers aggressively go up past the posted speed limit to "make up time". I have witnessed drivers of cars and pickups passing on the shoulders of the road due to two trucks barely passing one another.
Title
June 2, 2022
Cdl drivers are supposed to be trained well. If speed limiters are forced on trucks. Truckers are always at fault in an accident if logs are not correct making the truck that shouldn't of been there in the first place. If they pass speed limiters on trucks than any accident that happens should be the governments fault. Because if the truck was able to maintain a speed over the limiters speed they wouldn't of been there. With limiters there will be many more unsafe positions for truckers especially truckers not use to it. Which these positions will be forced so it would be a government faults putting these trucks in that position
Title
June 10, 2022
The speed regulations is a bad idea for one the interstates and hwys will backed up for miles. 2 if there is a shortage in truck drivers to deliver the goods like we have all heard on the news, then what do you think is going to happen when you cut the truck speeds back, they have problems in some places getting food. All the loads will be behind. If the government or fmcsa would run the numbers you will see that every since the elogs was mandated the accidents and fatalities hes moor then trippled. Moor so in the winter months. The drivers are all pushed for time now. Get rid of the elogs and watch the numbers drop. I myself have been driving for 23 years and i can tell you I do not need someone to tell me when i need to park it .... The government has way to many regulations on these trucks now.... Why not regulate the inexperienced drivers in the cars for once and let us live and provide for our families....
Title
June 12, 2022
Studies and research have already proven what we were all taught long ago in driver’s ed classes, that traffic is safest when vehicles all travel at the same relative speed
Title
June 12, 2022
This is only about control not the safety of the public. I think this is a very bad idea. It will cause so many more fatalities on the road ways.
Title
June 26, 2022
What a bad idea.Having all trucks run the same speed is only going to make cars do more dangerous things when interacting with semis,Please don't endorse this bill,, The cars drivers could be better educated on blind spots,the space needed in front of truck for stopping,
Title
August 29, 2022
Thanks for sharing great post, i have read this and got much information from here.
Title
September 18, 2022
In reading some of the comments on here and have been driving for well over a million miles I see no one addressing the real issue here, and that is not the speeding but the use of electronic devices that are causing distractions while driving! It's sad that no one wants to go there for the simple reason, your as guilty as the next person! Maybe if we could spend more time focusing on devices that will not allow cars and commercial trucks to be able to use any electrical devices while the vehicle is in motion. Speed is not the issue, it's distracted drivers. Maybe we should spend a little more time researching this issue than trying put the blame on speeding.
Title
October 19, 2022
Mega carriers wanted eld now they want speed limiters. Reason mega carriers want all the contracts. Fcsma lowered driving age for mega carriers. Good luck finding drivers in the future who are willing to go thru miles long back up traffic jams. Idea FCSMA stop taking bribes from mega carriers.