Does election signal end to speed limiter rulemaking?

Another presidential election is in the books, but how will it affect trucking in the near future? Does it mean the speed limiter rulemaking will go dormant again?

Jay Grimes, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association’s director of federal affairs, recently joined Land Line Now to discuss what the election outcome may mean for truckers.

In addition to the election of Republican Donald Trump as president, the GOP gained control of the Senate and, as of Monday, Nov. 11, was poised to maintain a majority in the House.

The results are likely to affect a variety of trucking topics, including speed limiters.

Will it feel like déjà vu when it comes to the latest attempt to mandate speed limiters in the trucking industry?

If you recall, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued a proposal to require speed limiters on commercial motor vehicles in 2016. In November 2016, Trump was elected president, and the rulemaking effort fell off the regulatory radar.

FMCSA revived the speed limiter rulemaking in 2022. Since then, the agency missed multiple target dates for releasing a notice of proposed rulemaking.

Now with Trump ready to return to office and a Republican Congress, any momentum for a speed limiter mandate may have screeched to a halt.

“Based on the lack of action to push forward with a speed limiter mandate in Trump’s first administration, I don’t think it is going to be a high priority for them to advance the current supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking,” Grimes said.

Not only could the Trump administration simply not act on the rulemaking as it did in 2017, but a Republican Congress could end the effort altogether.

The DRIVE Act would prohibit FMCSA from promulgating any rule or regulation to mandate speed limiters. The bill has 12 co-sponsors in the Senate and 42 in the House. So far, every co-sponsor has been a Republican. Sen. JD Vance, who will serve as Trump’s vice president, has pledged his support for the DRIVE Act.

OOIDA has maintained its stance that a speed limiter mandate would create dangerous speed differentials between cars and trucks and would lead to negative safety outcomes.

“It does seem like momentum for (speed limiters) could be stalled, which is a welcomed sign for us at OOIDA,” Grimes said. “Trying to read the tea leaves on this one, I know the debate on that will continue no matter what.”

Large carriers and trucking safety groups have long pushed for a speed limiter mandate. Many large carriers already require their drivers to use speed limiters for fuel efficiency. Forcing owner-operators to also use them would remove any competitive advantage. Also, the Truck Safety Coalition called out the Department of Transportation in July for delaying the rulemaking.

OOIDA said it is looking forward to working with the forthcoming administration “to advance a pro-trucker agenda.” The Association’s priorities include stopping the speed limiter rulemaking, preventing “unworkable environmental mandates” and expanding truck parking. LL