Should Trucks Have Speed Limiters?

Posted on May 30. 2023

By: ClassADrivers.com

Photo by Marc Sendra Martorell on Unsplash

Last year, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) indicated that the agency planned to impose a new regulation on commercial trucks: speed limiters. These would force a top speed for trucks over a certain limit, likely to be in the 60-68 mph range.

The trucking industry is no stranger to a push-and-pull over new regulations. So the question became hotly debated, “Should trucks have speed limiters?”

A Ban for Imposing Speed Limiters

Rep. Josh Brecheen (R-Okla.) strongly opposes the potential regulation and proposed the Deregulating Restrictions on Interstate Vehicles and Eighteen Wheelers Act (DRIVE Act). His co-sponsors include the following:

  • Pete Sessions, R-Texas
  • Lauren Boebert, R-Colo.
  • Scott Perry, R-Pa.
  • Eric Burlison, R-Mo.
  • John Moolenaar, R-Mich.

The Argument Against Speed Limiter Regulations

Supporters of the bill believe the Biden Administration’s FMCSA is overreaching in the name of safety, and the effects might be counterproductive.

Rep. Brecheen argues that limiting the speed of trucks could hinder their ability to keep up with the flow of traffic, which could be less safe than actually speeding a bit over the limit.

Opposition to the limiter (i.e. supports of the DRIVE Act) also believe the weight limit makes no sense. Currently speed limiters would be for any commercial vehicle over 26,000 lbs, which is far from the 80,000-pound big rigs that are most dangerous.

Additionally, affording new speed limiters could be onerous for smaller trucking companies. Owner operators, represented by the Owner-Operator Independent Driver Association (OOIDA) oppose the requirement for limiters.

When comments were allowed to be submitted to the FMCSA on the proposal, about 15,600 comments were posted and the majority were against the proposal.

Other support for the DRIVE Act comes from:

  • The National Association of Small Trucking Companies
  • American Farm Bureau Federations
  • Livestock Marketing Association
  • National Cattlemen’s Beef Association
  • Western States Trucking Association

Support for Regulation; Against the DRIVE Act

The debate is not so one-sided, however.

The heavyweight behind the opposition to the DRIVE Act is the American Trucking Associations (ATA), representing the major trucking companies.

Many ATA members have already invested in speed limiters and believe the devices will help lower accidents and decrease liability.

Opposition to the DRIVE Act comes from those who say that the bill is terribly timed to coincide with a rise in traffic fatalities from trucking accidents

Safety organizations have formed a coalition to oppose the bill, including:

  • Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety
  • Truck Safety Coalition
  • National Safety Council (NSC)
  • Road Safe America
  • The Trucking Alliance (backed by truckload carriers_
  • Road to Zero Coalition (cities, counties, and state governmental agencies)

The opposition to the DRIVE Act believe that stopping this specific regulation is arbitrary and only means to save money for a few owner-operators and small companies. And this cost is not worth the cost in potential human life.

Where do you stand on speed limiters?

Mandate them? Ban the mandate? Good technology but shouldn’t be mandated? Or costly and ineffective in the real world?