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October 31, 2006
TRUCKING ASSOCIATION WANTS SPEED GOVERNORS MANDATED
It is virtually unheard of that a motor vehicle industry interest group asks to have its behavior regulated by government, but a major trucking industry group, joined by some of its leading members and Road Safe America, an advocacy organization, is doing just that. The American Trucking Associations has petitioned federal regulators to require built-in maximum speed controls on large trucks, and to prevent trucking companies and drivers from tampering with them.
ATA said in a press statement that, “For the sake of safety, there is a need to slow down all traffic. The trucking industry is trying to do its part with this initiative. No vehicle should be capable of operating at excessive speeds on our nation’s highways.”
The move, which seeks a 68 mph maximum speed capability for big trucks, represents a major departure from long-standing auto industry opposition to proposals for mandating built-in speed limits, or so-called “speed governors,” on cars and trucks, despite the well-documented role of speed in crash and crash injury causation.
In a 2003 Gallup public-opinion survey carried out for NHTSA, a majority of those surveyed did not support such mandates, even though they believed that someone traveling 10 mph or more over the speed limit represented a safety hazard. Most cars in the U.S. today can exceed most posted speed limits by much greater margins than 10 mph.
For information on support for and opposition to ATA’s petition, go to these websites:
http://fleetowner.com/news/carriers_speed_govenors/
http://www.roadsafeamerica.org/
http://www.schneider.com/
http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/
Posted by MVHAP at October 31, 2006 02:07 PM