The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration(FMCSA) has added 45 days to the comment period on the “Parts and Accessories Necessary for Safe Operations: Speed Limiting Devices” mandate. Both the Owner Operator and Independent Driver Association (OOIDA) and American Trucking Associations (ATA) submitted requests for more time to make comments by “industry experts.”
The “advance notice of supplemental proposed rulemaking” is a process that allows the public to make comments on new legal mandates before they take effect. With over 11,300 comments as of Friday, May 27, there have been many opinions given to-date. Multiple organizations have made public comments on the proposal, including choices of what to set the speed limit at.
OOIDA leads charge for more time to comment
The comment period was to close May 27, but a request from OOIDA cited the 2016 attempts at mandating speed limiters, which had a 90-day comment period. That effort received over 6,500 comments on two dockets, the other being from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). It cited in notation 42 the National Highway Energy Conservation Act of 1974 calling for a 55 mile per hour limit.
The question remains on what speed to set the limit at
Proposals on the actual limit for the current mandate have not been made, but comments have asked for 60, 65, and 68 miles per hour to be used. From a perspective built on personal experience as a truck driver for over 15 years, anything less than 60 MPH would be both destructive to the driving environment and businesses.
Everyone, from concerned citizens to conglomerates, should be making comments on this mandate. If implemented, it will be a massive shift for the trucking industry. Comments can be made at this link to the FMCSA comment submission page. Not only can you leave written submissions, but insert documentation and evidence to support your comment.
