Truck Drivers Speak Out Against Proposed Speed Limit Rule

by Jana Ritter - Published: 9/16/2016

Last month, the federal government proposed a new road rule that would require electronic speed limiters being installed on all trucks and buses over 26,000 pounds manufactured after the regulation goes into effect. Speeds could be limited to 60, 65 or 68 miles per hour if and when the rule is finalized after a comment period that ends November 7, 2016.  But truck drivers are speaking out and warning that electronically limiting the speed of tractor-trailers will ultimately lead to more highway traffic back-ups and likely increase the number of fatal collisions with cars.

                                                           

Since the proposal went public, more than 150 people have filed comments to the government, with only 2 in favor. The majority, identifying themselves as independent truck drivers, says that slowing them down only increases the chances of trucks being hit from behind by cars allowed to go 70 mph or more. “The net effect of their rule means that the truck will be running slower still. That’s a crash scenario that’s more severe,” says Todd Spencer, executive vice president of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association. Spencer also adds that most car-truck crashes on freeways with traffic traveling in the same direction, involve a car rear-ending a truck.

But those in favor of speed limiters disagree, saying it comes down to simple physics. If a semi-truck or bus is traveling slower, the impact of any potential crash will be less severe and fewer people will be injured or killed. They also point to data from The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which analyzed crashes involving heavy trucks and cars from 2004 through 2013. 1,044 people died each year in crashes involving heavy trucks on roads with speed limits of at least 55 mph and the agency calculated that if trucks speeds were limited to 60 mph, 162 to 498 lives per year would be spared because the impact of a crash would be less severe. At 65 mph, up to 214 lives would be saved, and as many as 96 would be saved even with a 68 mph limit. Supporters further argue that speed limiters also would solve the problem of trucks traveling faster than their tires can handle and point to an investigation by The Associated Press, which found that most truck tires can’t handle speeds above 75 mph. Yet some states let trucks go 80 mph or even 85 mph.

                                                      

However, truck drivers say that the government is still creating conditions for more collisions by looking at the severity of crashes and ignoring the overall dynamic of trucks and cars traveling at different speeds. Doug Kruzan is a truck driver from South Carolina and says that in his many years on the job, he’s seen cars hit the back of slower trucks many times when the truck is attempting to move in the left lane to pass. “A car’s coming up behind him at 70, 75. They can’t slow down that quick. He’s going to run into the back of that truck every time,” Kruzan explains.

Truck drivers also make another point saying that if the rule is implemented, tractor-trailers trying to pass each other at similar speeds will cause “blockades” and further delay traffic, which will further frustrate motorists.

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