Coalition asks Trump to kill speed limiter proposal

January 17, 2025

Mark Schremmer

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A proposal to mandate speed limiters on commercial motor vehicles was derailed under President Donald Trump’s previous administration. With Trump days away from returning to office, a coalition has asked the president-elect to do it again.

A coalition of 17 organizations, including the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, wrote to Trump on Thursday, Jan. 16. The organizations contend that a speed limiter mandate would be “bad for road safety, driver retention and supply chain performance.”

The coalition represents several industries that would be subject to a mandate, including agriculture, construction and materials, along with small, medium and large trucking companies.

“In 2016, the Obama administration initiated this rulemaking to restrict all heavy-duty commercial motor vehicles to a single top speed across the country,” the coalition wrote. “Upon assuming office in 2017, your administration wisely removed this rulemaking from its regulatory agenda and took no further action. Unfortunately, in May 2022, FMCSA revived this mandate … again proposing to limit heavy-duty commercial motor vehicles to a single speed. We ask that you again remove, and ultimately rescind, this (proposal) from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s regulatory agenda.”

15,000 comments

In addition to this input from the industry, the latest speed limiter proposal received an abundance of opposition from individual truck drivers. More than 15,000 comments were submitted, with most opposed.

The majority of truckers who submitted comments said they did not want speed-limiting devices on their trucks for a variety of reasons, including dangerous speed differentials, the inability to accelerate when necessary and decreased revenue.

“First and foremost, this mandate would make our roads less safe,” the coalition wrote. “By establishing a one-size-fits-all federal mandate restricting heavy-duty commercial motor vehicles to a speed separate from passenger vehicles, this regulation would create dangerous speed differentials between commercial motor vehicles and other cars. Decades of highway research shows greater speed differentials increase interactions between truck drivers and other road users, and studies have consistently demonstrated that increasing interactions between vehicles directly increases the likelihood of crashes.”

The latest regulatory agenda targeted May for when FMCSA would reveal a proposed top speed. However, the coalition is hopeful that the new administration will halt the rulemaking just as it did in 2017.

“In short, this mandate will be harmful for America’s truckers and small businesses, and it will be counterproductive to improving roadway safety,” the coalition wrote. “As you consider deregulatory action for your initial days in office, our coalition believes that stopping this mandate would be an ideal way to start.”

The coalition

  • Agricultural Retailers Association
  • American Pipeline Contractors Association
  • Associated Equipment Distributors
  • Mid-West Truckers Association
  • National Aquaculture Association
  • National Asphalt Pavement Association
  • National Association of Small Trucking Companies
  • National Cattlemen’s Beef Association
  • National Ready Mixed Concrete Association
  • National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association
  • National Utility Contractors Association
  • North American Punjabi Trucking Association
  • Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association
  • Power & Communication Contractors Association
  • Towing and Recovery Association of America, Inc.
  • United States Cattlemen’s Association
  • Western States Trucking Association LL