OOIDA blasts FMCSA move to mandate speed limiters on heavy trucks
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) announced intention to mandate that commercial trucks have speed limiting devices is sharply dividing the trucking industry.
On one side is the American Trucking Associations (ATA), safety groups and the Trucking Alliance, which are backing the plan. The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) is sharply against it, and hinted it might challenge its legality in courts.
Initially, FMCSA set a maximum speed of 68 miles-per-hour for heavy trucks. But late on Sept. 25, FMCSA removed mention of the 68 mph limit from its website on the issue.
Whatever the maximum speed is, it will set off a lobbying fight in Washington among representatives of owner-operators, ranching interests and groups representing large trucking companies.
“Forcing trucks to speeds below the flow of traffic increases interactions between vehicles and leads to more crashes,” OOIDA President Todd Spencer said in a statement. “It’ll be like an obstacle course for passenger vehicle drivers on our highways. This isn’t safe for truckers, but especially not safe for passenger vehicle drivers sharing the road with trucks. The unintended consequences of this misguided regulation will cost innocent lives.”
FMCSA first proposed limiting heavy truck speeds in 2016. It says equipping heavy-duty vehicles with devices that limit their speeds on U.S. roadways, would save lives and more than $1 billion in fuel costs each year.
The latest proposed rule would apply to commercial motor vehicles manufactured after model year 2003 and weighing more than 26,000 pounds. FMCSA is targeting Dec. 29 as the date it expects to publish a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking. Once that is published, the public will have an opportunity to file comments.
Since the repeal of the National Maximum Speed Law in 1995, authority to establish speed limits on state highway systems has rested with the states. Many states have determined over the years that a uniform speed limit for cars and trucks is safest. Some lawmakers argue that an FMCSA mandate would violate states’ rights.
OOIDA says speed limiting devices on large trucks, while common in Europe and elsewhere, have been proven to create unnecessary congestion and dangerous speed differentials among vehicles. It claims this results in higher rates of vehicle interaction and higher crash rates.
The FMCSA rulemaking process was initially announced in April 2022. The agency has received more than 15,000 comments on the proposal, the majority from truck drivers expressing opposition.
“I’m an owner-operator,” Michael Perry wrote in comments to the agency, as per OOIDA. “This is not about safety. It’s more dangerous to be below the speed limit than to go with the traffic. If this goes into effect, I will be retiring.”
Many truckers spoke out about the dangers of speed differentials. Speed limits are as fast as 85 mph in parts of the United States.
Earlier this year, Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., introduced the Deregulating Restrictions on Interstate Vehicles and Eighteen-Wheelers (DRIVE) Act (S. 2671) to prohibit the FMCSA from promulgating any rule or regulation mandating speed limiters on large commercial motor vehicles. An identical House of Representatives version of the legislation (H.R. 3039) was also introduced earlier this year by Congressman Josh Brecheen, R-Okla.
“Montana truckers play an essential role in the Treasure State’s economy and ensuring they stay safe on the job is one of my top priorities,” Senator Daines said. “Overreaching, out-of-touch D.C. mandates oftentimes make truckers’ jobs harder and can even put their lives at risk—I’ll keep fighting for Montana truckers and against big government.”
“This rule will add one more needless burden and Congress must stop it,” Rep. Brecheen said in a statement. “For example, if a rancher is transporting cattle in a trailer across state lines, under this rule, the federal government would require a speed limiter device when above 26,000 pounds. Out-of-control bureaucrats are trying to impose ridiculous regulations on Americans who are trying to make ends meet.”
Among the organizations opposed to the speed limiter rulemaking are the American Farm Bureau Federation, Livestock Marketing Association, Montana Trucking Association, National Association of Small Trucking Companies, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, OOIDA, Towing and Recovery Association of America and Western States Trucking Association.
