OOIDA maintains efforts to stop speed limiter rulemaking
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association is encouraging its more than 150,000 members to ask their representatives to support a provision that could stop a possible speed limiter mandate on heavy trucks.
Last week, the House Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Subcommittee advanced its appropriations bill for fiscal year 2024. The bill includes a provision that would stop the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration from using funding toward its speed limiter rulemaking.
On Tuesday, July 18, the House Appropriations Committee will conduct a full markup hearing to vote on the Department of Transportation spending bill. OOIDA wants to make sure the bill moves forward without the speed limiter provision being removed.
“It’s critical that lawmakers hear from the small-business truckers who keep America moving,” OOIDA wrote. “Tell your representative that speed limiters have been proven to create unnecessary congestion and dangerous speed differentials among all vehicles. This results in higher rates of vehicle interaction and higher crash rates.”
Last year, FMCSA issued an advance notice of supplemental proposed rulemaking that considers requiring commercial motor vehicles with a gross vehicle weight of 26,001 pounds or more to be equipped with speed-limiting devices.
FMCSA received more than 15,000 comments on the proposal with the majority coming from truck drivers opposed to a mandate. Even so, the agency plans to unveil a notice of supplemental proposed rulemaking later this year that will include a top speed.
The provision in the spending bill attempts to prevent the rulemaking from going forward.
“None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act or any other Act may be used to promulgate any rule or regulation to require vehicles with a gross vehicle weight of more than 26,000 pounds operating in interstate commerce to be equipped with a speed limiting device set to a maximum speed,” the bill text states.
In a separate effort to stop the speed limiter rulemaking, Rep. Josh Brecheen, R-Okla., introduced HR3039 in May. The bill would prohibit FMCSA from moving forward with any rule or regulation to mandate speed limiters. As of July 17, the bill had 21 co-sponsors. LL