New York Senator Charles Schumer has urged the U.S. Department of Transportation to hurry up and pass the proposed limiter law.
The law would require all large commercial trucks and buses weighing over 26,000 pounds to be equipped with a device that would limit their maximum speed. The Department of Transportation hasn’t decided on a final speed limit and is currently weighing three options — 62, 65, and 68 miles-per-hour.
In a recent press conference in Manhattan, Schumer said that the mandate would help reduce truck related fatalities in New York. He estimated that the mandate would “save 94 lives per year” in the state.
Schumer urged the Department of Transportation to pass the bill before year’s end. “For every New Yorker or commuter who’s been next to or in the cross hairs of a speeding big rig, the technology like this can’t be installed fast enough,” he said.
Despite the senator’s insistence on passing the mandate, one of the largest supporters of a speed-limiter mandate has recently withdrawn their support. The American Trucking Association (ATA), who pushed for a speed limiter rule for more than a decade, said the proposal in its current form is unsafe. The ATA requested additional time for research and believes that a split speed limit between cars and trucks can create more safety concerns that it solves.
