IST Statement on FMCSA's Notice of Intent to Move Forward on CMV Speed Limiter Rule

The Institute for Safer Trucking, large truck crash survivors, and families of truck crash victims are encouraged by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) release of a notice of intent (NOI) to move forward with a rulemaking to require the use of speed limiters in commercial motor vehicles. 

Truck crash deaths have increased 31 percent from 2011 to 2020 (the most recent year of available data), with truck crash fatalities on roads with speed limits of 75mph or more skyrocketing 164 percent in that same time. Requiring the use of speed limiters in large trucks will help reverse this unfortunate trend. 

Almost every Class 7 and 8 truck has been built with speed limiter technology since the late 1990s, which is one reason why this change is long overdue. Moreover, a regulation for the use of speed limiters in large trucks has been supported by safety advocates and members of the trucking industry for just as long. The reason for this support is simple: speed limiters save fuel and, more importantly, they save lives. 

The announcement of this NOI also demonstrates Acting Administrator Hutcheson’s and the FMCSA’s commitment to executing the Department of Transportation’s National Roadway Safety Strategy (NRSS), which details a Safe System Approach that includes a section on Safer Speeds. We can think of no better, or more readily available safety solution, than setting already existing speed limiters in the largest vehicles on our roads. 

We look forward to continuing to work with the FMCSA and other stakeholders to promulgate this rulemaking as quickly as possible and ensure that large trucks operate at safe speeds. 

Link to Notice of Intent: https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/sites/fmcsa.dot.gov/files/2022-04/FMC-PRR-220107-001__AB63%20Speed%20limiters%20NOI%2004.20.22signed.pdf