Truck Speed Limiter Requirement Inches Along
Washington, D.C.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) have released a long awaited Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that will require speed limiter devices on commercial trucks.
The long-awaited ‘next step’ in this common sense federal rule comes 10 years after the American Trucking Associations (ATA) petitioned NHTSA to begin a rulemaking process.
The 118 page proposal sets forth general parameters that a truck speed limiter requirement should include, but leaves open the questions of what maximum speed the trucks should be required to have as well as if all trucks should be retrofitted with the devices or only new trucks manufactured after a date to be determined.
The Trucking Alliance will review the notice and file comments with the agencies as proposed.
“The Alliance supports a federal law to require speed limiters on all heavy commercial trucks, new trucks as well as those trucks in operation on our highways today,” said Lane Kidd, managing director. “Otherwise, some truckers will regrettably choose to subvert the law and operate trucks that are not required to have the speed limiters installed.
“Exempting existing trucks from the speed limiter rule would be counterproductive to saving lives and improving highway safety,” concluded Kidd.
http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/regulations/usdot-speed-limiting-devices-nprm