Editor’s note: this is the first of a four-part series on advanced technology for managing speed
With the authority to create and enforce laws, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration can do more than promote a safety campaign to “slow down to save lives.”
It could mandate a speed limit for heavy duty vehicles. And its proposed rule for speed limiters does just that. Now in the comment period, the rule may ultimately require all trucks to be governed at either 60, 65 or 68 mph.
FMCSA has data to support mandatory use of speed limiters to save lives and reduce emissions. A U.S. DOT study in 2012 examined speed-relevant truck crashes and found the crash rate for motor carriers that use speed limiters is 1.4 crashes per 100 trucks per year. By contrast, the crash rate for carriers that do not use the devices is more than three times higher: 5 crashes per 100 trucks per year.
This study involved more than 150,000 trucks and 28,000 crashes during the 2007-2009 data collection period.
Today, more than 85 percent of fleets govern the top speed of their trucks, according to a 2016 survey from the American Transportation Research Institute. The most common top speed setting is 65 mph, the survey found, with fuel economy, maintenance and safety cited by fleets as their top reasons.
