Owner-Operators Object To Speed Limiter Petition
Owner-operators registered their formal opposition to a petition by the American Trucking Associations to require all new heavy-duty trucks be governed to a maximum speed of 68 mph.
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association told federal safety agencies that the idea would have little impact on speeding and a negative impact on safety.
"On many roads, operating a truck at or above 68 mph can be appropriate, safe and legal," said OOIDA President James Johnston in a letter to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. "But under less than normal road conditions, unsafe driving can happen at 45 mph, 35 mph, or any rate of speed."
Limiters will increase the speed differential between cars and trucks, creating a threat to safety, Johnston said. The way to reduce speeding is to train drivers and change the practice of paying by the mile or by loads hauled, he said.
Most ATA members, including many of the nation's largest fleets, believe that limiters will improve safety and the industry's public image.
Specifically, ATA asked NHTSA, which regulates truck equipment, to require manufacturers to program the 68 mph ceiling into electronic control modules and make sure the ECMs are tamper-proof. The requirement would apply to all new trucks with a gross vehicle weight rating above 26,000 pounds. At the same time, ATA asked FMCSA to penalize anyone who tampers with the ECM to get more speed.
In his letter to the agencies, Johnston questioned ATA's motives, arguing that this is an attempt to reduce the level of driver turnover.
"OOIDA believes that driver dislike for speed governors may be the real impetus for this petition," he said. "Motor carriers who have adopted speed governors fear they will lose drivers to carriers without speed governors, and they will have more difficulty recruiting new drivers. By imposing this technology on other motor carriers, they would eliminate this disadvantage."
Johnston also challenged the agencies' jurisdiction. Limiters would in effect create a speed limit, and only states have the right to regulate highway speeds, he said.
It is now up to the agencies to decide whether or not to propose regulations.
Whatever the outcome at the agencies, the petition is stirring interest among Washington transportation groups.
"ATA is to be applauded for putting the issue on the table," said Dick Henderson, director of government affairs for the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, which represents the enforcement community. "It has caused our driver committee to take a whole new look at the issue of speed limits."
Among members of the Truck Renting and Leasing Association there is strong support for limiters, although that organization still is in the process of determining what its official position will be.
And in a rare alignment, the ATA petition has the support of the safety advocacy community. Jacqueline Gillan, vice president of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, and Joan Claybrook, president of Public Citizen, said they think limiters are a good idea.
Some members of ATA will not like the petition, associations leaders have acknowledged, but Ryder, for one, has publicly signed on. "Ryder has been a longtime supporter of speed limiters for better safety performance," the company said in a statement.
– Oliver B. Patton, Washington Editor
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