Washington — Following through on a recent announcement, the Trump administration has withdrawn a contentious Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration proposal that would have required speed-limiting devices on heavy trucks.
A July 24 notice from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and FMCSA states that the proposal “lacks a sufficiently clear and compelling safety justification for its implementation.” Additionally, the agencies indicate that their research and analysis “contained significant data gaps regarding potential safety benefits and economic impacts, and information obtained through the public comment process did not provide the information necessary to proceed to a final rule.”
FMCSA introduced an advance notice of proposed rulemaking for the measure in May 2022. It expanded on a 2016 joint proposal from NHTSA and FMCSA to require the installation of speed limiters on trucks, buses and multipurpose passenger vehicles weighing more than 26,000 pounds. FMCSA was the lone agency listed on the updated ANPRM, which didn’t suggest a top speed. The 2016 proposal specified capping speeds at 60, 65 or 68 mph.
FMCSA received nearly 16,000 comments on its updated advance proposal. The agency says about 300 comments “provided some type of support for continued development of the proposals,” while more than 15,000 “included statements opposing the rulemaking.”
As part of an Executive Order recently issued by President Donald Trump, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on June 27 announced a “package of new initiatives, pilot programs and regulatory updates designed to improve the lives of America’s truck drivers,” an FMCSA press release states.
Rolling back the speed-limiter proposal was among those actions. Todd Spencer, president and CEO of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, welcomed the move.
“Studies and research have already proven what we were all taught long ago in driver’s ed classes – that traffic is safest when vehicles all travel at the same relative speed,” Spencer said in a press release. “Limiting trucks to speeds below the flow of traffic increases interactions between vehicles, which can lead to more crashes.”
In a separate release, however, National Safety Council CEO Lorraine M. Martin cited Department of Transportation data showing that speed limiters set to 65 mph can prevent more than 200 roadway fatalities and 5,000 injuries each year.
“USDOT’s research has proven speed-limiting devices save lives, ensuring truckers can perform their jobs and return home safely,” Martin said. “This is a disappointing rollback of a decades-long effort to reduce speed-related fatalities involving large commercial vehicles. The National Safety Council urges DOT to reconsider its decision, which will cost lives.”
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Original article published by Safety+Health an NSC publication