Earlier this month, the Dept. of Transportation opened up the proposed speed limiter rule for public comments. The law will require all heavy-duty commercial trucks to be equipped with an electronic speed limiter. Although the exact maximum speed limit has not yet been determined, it is believed to be either 62, 65, or 68 miles per hour.
Thousands of people voiced their opinions of the rules on social media, and most were strongly against it. On the LiveTrucking Facebook page alone there were nearly 4,000 comments from drivers in opposition of the rule. Add in a few other popular trucking pages, and the number of comments skyrockets.
However, only a fraction of those opposed to the speed limiter rule took the time to comment on the official Regulations.gov public forum that will be read by lawmakers.
If drivers really disliked the rule as much as they say they did, there would be significantly more comments than there currently are. It’s free, easy, takes only a few minutes, and will be read by the FMCSA and NHTSA.
Those who did leave comments, made very valid points. Here are some of the submissions.
Speed limiters on trucks are a bad idea.uniform speeds between cars and trucks doesn’t cause nearly as much unsafe lane changing.drivers should be able to have the capability to pass another vehicle that is doing slightly under the speed limit in a safe amount of time.very few if any accidents would be prevented by mandating them.in some instances 30 mph is to fast but when conditions allow 70 mph should be allowed as millions and millions of miles has shown.
-Bruce Spencer
Several studies were done in the past by Insurance Agencies, States and Motorists Associations and all reflected that a uniform speed for all motoring traffic rather than differing velocities is the cause of most accidents. Lowering a speed limit on a certain group of drivers or vehicles reflects a limited approach to road safety, it may do the exact opposite of what they are seeking to attain. All commercial drivers know their vehicle and the environment they are driving in. If this continues for the trucking community, it will only find a monetary gain in speeding violations rather than a safety approach to reducing accidents.
-Ann Butler
The major problem with this is getting to merge onto a 70mph interstate with your speed limited, trucks already are slow because of weight do we need to make it worse so we’re more in danger of an accident? Second of all trying to change lanes on an interstate is a challenge as it is due to the fact that four wheelers rarely do the speed posted, this is nothing but an accident waiting to happen I’ve been driving for 20 years and can attest to the fact of this will skyrocket traffic deaths. Before you regulate an industry spend a few years as an active participant in it.
-Kirk Cepavicius
While it’s unclear how large of an effect your public comments will have on the outcome of the rule, one thing is clear — it will definitely play a bigger factor in the rule making process than your comments on social media.
So take a few minutes of your day and head on over to Regulations.gov (Docket #FMCSA-2014-0083) and let your voice be heard — unless you want the unsafe speed limiter mandate to become reality.
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