Safety advocacy group Road Safe America said it supports an effort by American Trucking Associations in urging the federal government to order the use of speed governors on heavy-duty trucks.
The group said it backs the idea that a national regulation be adopted requiring the use of speed governors to slow down tractor-trailer rigs both to save lives and save fuel, with diesel prices near $4 a gallon.
ATA last week called for a series of measures to address the fuel-price “crisis,” including setting limiters on all new trucks at 68 miles per hour or less, and having a national speed limit of 65 mph.
Road Safe America was the first group to petition the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, calling for speed governors on trucks. The group said its petition, together with one by ATA, addresses existing as well as future heavy-duty trucks.
“The trucking industry is facing a financial crisis as the price of diesel fuel continues to skyrocket, and we understand the dire need to get the federal government to take measures that will help trucks save precious fuel,” said Stephen Owings, founder of the Atlanta-based group.
“That’s an additional reason we have encouraged national policies requiring the use of speed governors on big rigs and we totally support the ATA in their initiative to slow down big trucks,” he said.
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