Trucking Industry Seeks to Implement Speed Limitations

The American Trucking Associations (ATA) is renewing its call for reduced truck speeds.

The association is asking the Department of Transportation to establish a rule requiring speed limiters, also known as Electronic Control Modules (ECM), on all large trucks to be set no higher than 65 miles per hour. This marks the second request in nine years.

The move comes after the United States Department of Transportation announced last week that the proposed rule has been delayed another month and now will not be published until late July.

Most truck tires are designed for a maximum sustained speed of 75 miles per hour. However, many tractor-trailers drive faster than this speed. It’s a practice that has been linked to wrecks and blowouts. Federal data also shows that driving too fast for conditions or over the posted speed limit is the primary reason for 18 percent of all deadly crashes where a large truck was found at-fault.

An Associated Press story published at the end of March identified 14 states with highway speed limits of 75 to 85 mph, despite most heavy truck tires not being rated to go more than 75 mph.

Safety advocates say driving faster than a tire’s rated speed can generate excessive wear and tear on tire tread, which causes potentially catastrophic results.

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