Speed limiters? Truckers say no.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s proposal regarding speed limiters is extremely early in the process, but truck drivers wasted no time letting the agency know what it thinks about a potential mandate.

As of press time in July, about 15,000 comments had been filed to the docket. A significant majority opposed the idea of forcing commercial motor vehicles to drive – in many instances – well below the posted speed limit.

Truck drivers say it would be another example of overregulation and point to problems with speed differentials and road rage incidents that would result from drivers of passenger vehicles being stuck behind slow-moving tractor-trailers.

As one of the thousands of truck drivers to post comments, OOIDA Board Member Rodney Morine explained the problem in a relatable way.

“I’ll make it plain and simple,” said Morine, a truck driver from Louisiana with more than 25 years of experience. “Have you ever been walking in the store and the person behind your runs into your shin with their shopping cart and cuts your ankle? That is because (you and the other shopper) were traveling at two different speeds. If it is dangerous in the local Walmart, it is life threatening on our highways.”

FMCSA issued an advance notice of supplemental rulemaking in May.

The proposal asked for feedback regarding a potential speed limiter mandate on most commercial motor vehicles with a gross vehicle weight of 26,001 or more. Although the notice didn’t set a specific speed, previous proposals have targeted such speeds as 60, 65 or 68 miles per hour.

As of press time, the comment period for the supplemental notice was set to end on July 18. If the agency decides to move forward with a notice of proposed rulemaking, that is likely to hit the Federal Register next summer.

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association opposes any speed limiter requirement and was working on its formal comments before the July 18 deadline.

“It would create – in some areas – a 20 mph speed differential between the posted speed limit and … trucks at (potentially) 65 mph,” Jay Grimes, OOIDA’s director of federal affairs, told Land Line Now. “That’s going to create more opportunities for collisions when you look at some of the data presented. When you increase speed differentials between cars and trucks, you’re going to have more collisions. I think that flies in the face of FMCSA’s mission to improve safety and to reduce commercial motor vehicle crashes.”

Thousands opposed

OOIDA is far from alone in opposing the proposal.

“There are already enough limitations on truckers and we have many things going against us, including ever-increasing fuel prices and decreasing load rates,” Kristiana Rica wrote. “It is crucial that this does not pass. I vote against it.”

Michael Whitaker argues that a mandate would negatively affect safety.

“Speed limiting trucks is not safe,” he wrote. “It’s more dangerous for truck drivers and the driving public. It also will cause more congestion … If you really want to make the roads safe, go back to your bosses and recommend training the public on how to share the roads with trucks.”

Jon Herndon said the mandate would hurt small-business truckers.

“I do not support this proposed mandate,” he wrote. “It will put undue limits on a small trucking company’s ability to be competitive and be profitable in the market place. It will also cause traffic to be hampered by trucks that can’t legally maintain the same speed as the surrounding traffic, especially on roads with changing elevations where speed is lost as roads rise in elevation. Please do not implement any regulations that create winners or losers because of a trucking company’s wealth.” LL