Department Of Transportation Proposed Speed Limiter Rule

The Department of Transportation considers requiring a speed limiter to be installed on all trucks over 26,000 pounds in an effort to reduce vehicle crashes.

This new rule is being suggested by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to improve highway safety for truck drivers and others on the road.

The organizations want to institute a rule that requires all trucks over a certain weight to have speed limiters that prevent them from going over a certain speed. As of now, that weight is likely going to be 26,000 pounds or more on roads which have posted limits equal to or greater than 55 m.p.h.

Truck driver safety and road safety are becoming a hot topic lately, with several new rules and mandates being proposed. The FMCSA has already required an e-log and recorder mandate, driver coercion rule, drug and alcohol clearinghouse, and a Safety Fitness Determination rule. In addition to electronic logs proposed to improve safety and efficiency on trucks and buses, the Department of Transportation is proposing a speed limiter rule.

The FMCSA is hoping with this rule that they can prevent approximately 1,000 fatal crashes that occur every year. Several transportation safety organizations are petitioning for this rule, including Roadsafe America and the American Trucking Associations. These petitioners are really what got the ball rolling with DOT, as they mentioned thousands of signatures came in requesting the new speed limiter rule. It comes after a 2012 legal case that claims speed limiters are unsafe and violate the driver’s rights.

Before the rule can go into effect, it must first go through a rulemaking process as approved by the White Houses’ Office of Management and Budget. According to a report by the Commercial Carrier Journal, it will need to be approved by the Secretary of Transportation, Anthony Foxx, before being sent to the White House. The date for the proposal is tentatively set for October 1^st, where public comments can be made.

Before the proposal and the rule goes into effect, there’s some important advice for truck drivers to ensure their safety. This includes maintaining a speed of 65 mph on the highway, not just for safety reasons, but it also helps improve fuel efficiency and reduces insurance premiums. Another solution to consider before the rule goes into effect, is having a GPS tracking device installed on the fleet to track their speed, driving habits, and fuel usage.

According to the Department of Transportation (DOT), there won’t be a lot of cost to employers to have the speed limiters installed, since most trucks already have the devices in their fleet. The difference is that many don’t have the limit set, and it will become a requirement of all trucks.

The DOT has not yet mentioned what the speed limit will be, though they mentioned it may be published publicly at the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that will take place on October 1^st. The FMCSA also still needs to decide if it applies to all trucks over the weight minimum, just new trucks, or require other retroactives like replacing older speed limiter devices with updated ones.

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