As you can hear in the latest mailbag podcast below (and at the head of the mailbag SoundCloud playlist above), readers responded in numbers to the new of the Senate appropriations committee’s late-April message to the Department of Transportation that it wants action on the NHTSA/FMCSA speed limiter rule, long in process. (The bill passed last week, if it becomes law, gives the DOT 6 months following enactment to produce a speed limiter final rule. Find the bill’s text here.)
John Pitt of Ontario, Canada, noted he’s seen the outcome of a speed-limiting mandate in his home province, where it’s in his view resulted in “more accidents with four wheelers, congestion, two right lanes full of semis and a huge loss of revenue.”
For those who would argue for limited speed uniformly believing “your wages will go up and safety will improve,” Pitt offered an LOL in comments under the appropriations news. “The only ones that win are the oil companies, because a cut-back engine/tranny combo will use more fuel (I have records to prove it), and the large trucking companies that can’t get butts in the seat because they cannot compete with fast trucks!”
As one of the callers featured in the podcast, echoed by many others, put it, requiring speed limiters for nearly all on-highway trucks would most importantly be a detriment to highway safety. What’s more, he said, regulators “will never find out” unless “they get out on the road with us” to see for themselves.
