Truck Speed-Limiter Rule Delayed for ‘Extended’ Review by White House
A proposed rule to require the installation and use of speed-limiting devices on heavy trucks has been delayed while it receives an “extended” review by the White House Office of Management and Budget.
Prior to the announcement on an OMB portal, the joint National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration proposal was expected to be published in the Federal Register on Sept. 21.
“The Large Truck Speed Limiter rule is currently being reviewed by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs,” an NHTSA spokesman said Sept. 4. “At this time, NHTSA does not have a finalized date for when the rule will be complete.”
The spokesman did not give a reason for the delay. The proposed rule was sent to OMB on May 19.
The request for the mandate dates to 2006, when American Trucking Associations and Roadsafe America sent petitions to FMCSA calling for adoption of the regulatory requirement.
ATA asked that the mandate also require truckers to set the limiters to a top speed of 65 mph. The agencies have not said what maximum speed they will propose.
The agencies say that based on available safety data and the ancillary benefit of reduced fuel consumption, the rulemaking would have minimal cost and decrease fatal crashes annually involving vehicles weighing more than 26,000 pounds on roads with posted speed limits of 55 mph or above.
