Trucking news and briefs for Friday, May 9, 2025:
Senate introduces version of a ban on any speed limiter mandate
Following its introduction in the U.S. House in April, members of the United States Senate this month introduced a bill that would block the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration from requiring speed limiters on heavy-duty trucks.
Rep. Josh Brecheen (R-Oklahoma) introduced the bill in the House last month. On May 8, Sen. Steve Daines (R-Montana) introduced it in the Senate.
Dubbed the Deregulating Restrictions on Interstate Vehicles and Eighteen-Wheelers (DRIVE) Act, the text of the bill is simple: “the Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration may not issue any rule or promulgate any regulation to require a commercial motor vehicle … to be equipped with a speed limiting device set to a maximum speed.”
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association and National Association of Small Trucking Companies have each expressed their support for the legislation.
NASTC President Dave Owen thanked Daines for introducing the bill, adding that his organization “stands ready to work with him for its enactment. And we surely hope to see this in the next highway bill to codify its limits on bureaucrats.”
“No one is more committed to safe highways than America’s truck drivers,” said OOIDA President Todd Spencer. “We share the same goal as every motorist -- arriving safely. But forcing trucks to operate below the speed of traffic makes roads less safe by creating speed differences and more risky interactions.”
The notion of a speed limiter mandate resurfaced under the Biden Administration after having been put on the regulatory backburner during President Donald Trump’s first administration.
[Related: FMCSA's speed-limiter mandate: Ban reintroduced in Congress]
FMCSA receives petition for HOS exemption
A 72-truck, Wisconsin-based fleet is seeking an exemption from the maximum driving time limits in the hours-of-service regulations.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, in a Federal Register notice publishing Monday, said it received the request from Northern Clearing Inc. to allow the company “to provide continued restoration, clean up, and re-construction services in North Carolina, under the same conditions set out in the FMCSA Regional Emergency Declaration and Extension of Emergency Declarations Number 2024-008, which was in effect from October 4 through December 26, 2024.”
FMCSA noted that the original declaration granted regulatory relief for operations providing direct assistance in emergency response to Hurricane Helene, regardless of trip origin. That relief does not cover long-term infrastructure rehabilitation once the immediate threat has passed, however.
Northern Clearing is requesting that it be allowed to continue operating under the conditions outlined in the emergency declaration and align its HOS practices with the “utility service vehicle” exemption in 49 CFR 395.1(n).
Once published in the Federal Register Monday, FMCSA will accept public comments on the request for 30 days. Comments can be filed at www.regulations.gov by searching Docket No. FMCSA-2025-0093.
U.S. Custom Harvesters seek renewal for under-21 exemption
U.S. Custom Harvesters, Inc. (USCHI) has requested a renewal of the exemption from the “K” intrastate restriction on commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) held by custom harvester drivers under the age of 21 operating in interstate commerce.
Under an exception, which has been in place since 1971, the requirement that truck drivers must be at least 21 years old does not apply to a someone who drives in interstate commerce while engaged in custom harvesting operations, as long as certain conditions are met.
[Related: Faces of the road: 19-year-old Jordan Foreman, on his past, present and future trucking]
However, under the FMCSA’s CDL regulations, states can impose an intrastate-only (or “K”) restriction for these drivers.
USCHI said that, even though CMV drivers engaged in custom harvesting are exempt from the 21-year-old requirement, they are frequently cited during roadside inspections because of the presence of the “K” restriction on their licenses. USCHI requests a renewal for the waiver that would allow law enforcement officers to determine that the driver is operating in custom harvester operations. For example, USCHI proposes that the driver be required to provide at least three methods of verification while en route.
FMCSA renewed the exemption last summer, but it’s set to expire on Oct. 3, 2025. FMCSA will begin accepting comments on the renewal request when the notice publishes in the Federal Register on Monday. Comments can be filed at www.regulations.gov by searching Docket No. FMCSA-2017-0133.
