Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association

1 OOIDA Drive, Grain Valley, MO 64029
Web Site: www.ooida.com
Facebook: OOIDA Facebook

Contact: press@ooida.com
Headquarters: (816) 229-5791

For Immediate Release

Speed limiters on trucks would increase highway crashes

Restricted truck speeds mean rolling roadblocks, road rage

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association criticized an announcement from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration about proceeding with a controversial speed limiter rulemaking.

OOIDA says that policies and devices that limit speeds for large trucks create unnecessary congestion and dangerous speed differentials among vehicles, which lead to higher accident involvement rates. The FMCSA is preparing a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking to follow up on a 2016 joint proposal with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

“Studies and research have already proven what we were all taught long ago in driver’s ed classes, that traffic is safest when vehicles all travel at the same relative speed,” said OOIDA President Todd Spencer. “Limiting trucks to speeds below the flow of traffic increases interactions between vehicles which can lead to more crashes.”

Additionally, most crashes involving CMVs occur in areas with speed limits below 55 mph, mitigating the effect of any potential mandate.

“What the motoring public should know is that when they are stuck behind trucks on long stretches of highway, those trucks are often limited to a speed well under the posted speed limit,” said Spencer.

The Association has a video demonstrating the dangers of speed limited trucks.

The following research and summary documents explain in more detail:

Speed limiters will negatively impact safety

Differentials Speed Limits Make Roads Less Safe

Study Shows Speed Limit Differentials Compromise Highway Safety

Empirical Analysis of Truck and Automobile Speeds on Rural Interstates: Impact of Posted Speed Limits

OOIDA 2021 letter to DOT

Cost-Benefit Evaluation of Large Truck-Automobile Speed Limits Differentials

OOIDA comments to 2016 NHTSA proposal

Accidents on Main Rural Highways Related to Speed

Safety Impact of Differential Speed Limits

Effects of Truck Strategies on Traffic Flow and Safety on Multilane Highways

Impact of differential speed limits on speed of traffic and rate of accidents

Review of NHTSA and FMCSA speed limiter NPRM

Review of NHTSA and FMCSA speed limiters PRIA

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