United States Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced that the Departmentโs National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration propose equipping heavy-duty vehicles with devices that limit their speeds on U.S. roadways, as well as requiring those devices be set to a maximum speed, a safety measure the department says could save lives and more than $1 billion in fuel costs each year.
โThere are significant safety benefits to this proposed rule-making,โ Foxx said. โIn addition to saving lives, the projected fuel and emissions savings make this proposal a win for safety, energy conservation and our environment.โ
The departmentโs proposal would establish safety standards requiring all newly manufactured U.S. trucks, buses and multipurpose passenger vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating more than 26,000 pounds to come equipped with speed limiting devices. The proposal discusses the benefits of setting the maximum speed at 60, 65 and 68 miles per hour, but the agencies will consider other speeds based on public input.
โThis is basic physics,โ said NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind. โEven small increases in speed have large effects on the force of impact. Setting the speed limit on heavy vehicles makes sense for safety and the environment.โ
โSafe trucking moves our economy, and safe bus operations transport our loved ones,โ said FMCSA Administrator T.F. Scott Darling III. โThis proposal will save lives while ensuring that our nationโs fleet of large commercial vehicles operates fuel efficiently.โ
Motor carriers operating commercial vehicles in interstate commerce would be responsible for maintaining the speed limiting devices at or below the designated speed for the service life of the vehicle under the proposal. While the maximum set travel speed will be determined in the final rule, estimates included in the proposal demonstrate that limiting heavy vehicles will save lives.
Requiring speed limiting devices could also save an estimated $1.1 billion in fuel costs and millions of gallons of fuel annually. The public is encouraged to submit their comments on the proposed rule at www.regulations.gov.
