WASHINGTON — The trucking industry is reaching out to President-elect Trump in an effort to stop the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) proposed mandate on speed limiters.
In a letter from the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association’s (OOIDA) speed limiter coalition and endorsed by 17 organizations, the letter urges Trump to postpone and ultimately rescind the mandate.
“We write to ask that you take deregulatory action by indefinitely postponing, and ultimately rescinding, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) proposed mandate for speed limiters on all heavy-duty commercial motor vehicles (CMVs),” the letter said. “This mandate will be bad for road safety, driver retention, and supply chain performance. While a speed limiter mandate may be thought as something affecting only the “trucking” industry, FMCSA’s proposal would apply to every commercial truck weighing over 26,000 pounds. Our coalition represents the numerous industries that would be subject to this mandate, including agriculture, construction, and materials, along with small, medium, and large trucking companies.”
Trump Initially Removed the Proposal in First Term
According to the letter, in 2016, the Obama Administration initiated the rulemaking to restrict all heavy-duty commercial CMVs to a single top speed across the country. Afters taking office in 2017, the Trump Administration removed rulemaking from its regulatory agenda and took no further action. In May 2022, FMCSA revived this mandate with a new Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, again proposing to limit heavy-duty CMVs to a single speed.
Mandate a Safety Hazard
“First and foremost, this mandate would make our roads less safe,” the letter said. “By establishing a one-size-fits-all federal mandate restricting heavy-duty CMVs to a speed separate from passenger vehicles, this regulation would create dangerous speed differentials between CMVs and other cars. Decades of highway research shows greater speed differentials increase interactions between truck drivers and other road users, and studies have consistently demonstrated that increasing interactions between vehicles directly increases the likelihood of crashes.”
Proposed Rule Limits Business Opportunities
According to the letter, a speed limiter mandate will make it more difficult for businesses to attract and retain professional drivers. FMCSA received nearly 16,000 comments on its most recent NPRM, and “it is clear the majority of drivers do not want speed-limited trucks.” Speed limiting trucks will take control of the vehicle out of drivers hands and increases pressure on drivers to complete their work. Truckers required to operate below the posted speed limit must drive longer hours to cover the same distance, which increases their fatigue and places even greater stress on them to comply with burdensome hours-of-service regulations.
Freight Service Compromised
“This mandate will also literally slow freight movement across the country,” the letter said. “To account for this, more trucks will be needed to carry the same amount of freight in the same amount of time, which would increase road congestion. All of these effects would unnecessarily hamper economic growth under your leadership. In short, this mandate will be harmful for America’s truckers and small businesses, and it will be counterproductive to improving roadway safety. As you consider deregulatory action for your initial days in office, our coalition believes that stopping this mandate would be an ideal way to start.”
OOIDA has been fighting against the mandate since it was first proposed.
The letter was endorsed by 17 organizations including:
- Agricultural Retailers Association
- American Pipeline Contractors Association
- Associated Equipment Distributors
- Mid-West Truckers Association
- National Aquaculture Association
- National Asphalt Pavement Association
- National Association of Small Trucking Companies
- National Cattlemen’s Beef Association
- National Ready Mixed Concrete Association
- National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association
- National Utility Contractors Association
- North American Punjabi Trucking Association
- Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association
- Power & Communication Contractors Association
- Towing and Recovery Association of America, Inc.
- United States Cattlemen’s Association
- Western States Trucking Association
The Small Business in Transportation Coalition (SBTC) is also urging the government to stop the proposed mandate on speed limiters.
Dana Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has been featured in multiple newspapers, books and magazines across the globe. She is currently based in the Atlanta, Georgia, area.
