NSC urges USDOT to reconsider its withdrawal of a proposed rule

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) withdrew its proposed rulemaking to reduce fatalities from speed-related crashes involving large commercial vehicles through the use of technology that limits their speed. The move ends a more than two-decade effort to establish a federal safety standard requiring speed-limiting devices in multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks, buses and school buses with a gross weight of more than 26,000 pounds.

"USDOT’s research has proven speed-limiting devices save lives, ensuring truckers can perform their jobs and return home safely," said Lorraine Martin, CEO of the National Safety Council. "This is a disappointing rollback of a decades-long effort to reduce speed-related fatalities involving large commercial vehicles. The National Safety Council urges USDOT to reconsider its decision, which will cost lives."

Speeding was a factor in 29% of all traffic fatalities in 2023, killing 11,775, or an average of over 32 people on a typical day. When excess speed is combined with heavy vehicles, the results are often deadly. In 2023, 5,375 large trucks were involved in a fatal crash, an 8.4% decrease from 2022 but a 43% increase in the last 10 years.

Research shows that speed-limiting devices save lives. A 2012 FMCSA study of fleet crash data found that trucks equipped with speed-limiting devices had a significantly lower crash rate than those without such devices. According to USDOT, truck speed limiters, if set to a maximum speed of 65 mph, could save more than 200 lives and prevent nearly 5,000 injuries annually.