The Trump administration has officially scrapped an Obama-era plan that would have imposed speed limits on large trucks and buses nationwide, reports USA Today, shelving a proposal that had been in the works since 2016. The original idea was to use electronic devices called governors to cap the speed of vehicles weighing more than 26,000 pounds at somewhere between 60mph and 68mph, with the intention of reducing crash severity, saving lives, and cutting fuel and emissions costs.
Proponents of the speed cap, including federal regulators during Obama's tenure, argued it could save between 63 and 214 lives annually while netting drivers more than $800 million in savings. But the plan met resistance from the trucking industry, drivers, and several states, many of which saw it as a violation of their rights to set local speed limits. Upward of 15,000 public comments opposed the move.
Trump officials cited concerns that mandatory speed limits would increase trucking costs, slow deliveries, worsen driver pay, and potentially push more trucks onto side roads, creating new safety and congestion problems. They also noted that improved safety technologies—such as radar-assisted emergency braking—have emerged since the proposal was first introduced. Further, the DOT last month expressed concern that "mandating speed limiters on heavy-duty trucks isn't just an inconvenience—it is a safety hazard when drivers are forced to go slower than the flow of traffic," per the Telegraph.
story continues below
Truck driver Henry Albert tells USA Today that while safety advocates have a point, the reality on the road is complicated. Albert, who limits his own truck to 80mph but rarely drives that fast, suggests that better speed-limit enforcement would do more for safety than new regulations. The American Trucking Associations, while having supported a 65mph cap in the past, says it now believes "the USDOT can successfully balance deregulatory actions while enforcing sensible regulations that are on the books," according to Dan Horvath, the ATA's chief operating officer.
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
