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Trucking industry divided over speed limiters Wednesday, Feb 21, 2007 By Fred Love Stephens Washington Bureau WASHINGTON - A proposal requiring truckers to make use of devices that limit their speeds to no faster than 68 mph has caused a split within the trucking industry. Nine large trucking companies including J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc., of Lowell, have asked government agencies to force the use of speed limiters in virtually all commercial tractor-trailers. Along with the American Trucking Associations, the companies last October joined with Road Safe America, a safety advocacy group, in filing a petition with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. A similar petition was submitted to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. All trucks manufactured since 1990 are equipped with speed limiters, which are computer chips that can be set to cap the maximum speed of trucks, but are not uniformly put into use. Bill Graves, president and CEO of the American Trucking Associations, said speed limiters improve highway safety and increase fuel efficiency. "We believe it's incumbent on the industry to lead by example on safety-related issues," Graves said. But smaller trucking firms and owner-operators scoff at the reasoning, saying the devices in some instances make the highways less safe by limiting driver maneuverability. Todd Spencer, executive vice president of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, called the petition "a matter of public relations" for larger firms to eventually gain permission to haul larger loads than are currently allowed. "The petition is designed to mask their true intent which is bigger and heavier trucks," Spencer said. "This was a public relations thing to somehow spin these companies as the safe companies willing to pay a little price for safety." Graves said the American Trucking Associations' stance on weight and length requirements is unrelated to its speed initiative, but he did say that productivity should be "part of the discussion." Capping the maximum speed of large trucks at 68 mph reduces the likelihood and severity of accidents, Graves said, while allowing trucks to keep up with the flow of traffic. "Sixty-eight mph is recognized as an accepted industry standard," he said. But Spencer said speed limiting devices may hinder truck drivers' ability to maneuver and put themselves and other motorists in danger. "All drivers want the ability to speed up to get around another vehicle if they need to or have the ability to get out of someone's way," he said. Spencer maintained the petitioning companies, most of which already limit the speed of their trucks, want to keep their drivers from jumping to companies with fewer restrictions. "Retention is a concern of the petitioners because they feel like drivers will leave their companies for companies that don't have the same speed limits on their vehicles," he said. Any trucking company can voluntarily require the use of speed governing devices, Spencer said. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, two agencies under the umbrella of the Department of Transportation, have invited public comment before they decide whether to move forward with the petition, according to the Jan. 26 Federal Register. A decision to begin a rulemaking proceeding, however, does not mean the agencies will decide to require speed limiting devices, the agencies said. In 1991, a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration study on heavy vehicle speeding concluded that there was insufficient justification to recommend the mandatory use of speed governing devices. Steve Owings, founder of Road Safe America, said mandatory speed governors will assure a safer environment for motorists. "I think the general public will feel safer on the highway," Owings said. "This would reduce the number and the violence of crashes of tractor-trailers." He said limiting the speed of massive trucks allows them less momentum and grants truck drivers the ability to stop more quickly and in less distance. "It's a very simple problem that we're trying to address, and that is the physics of the situation," he said. Speed limiters may economically benefit the trucking industry, he said, by preventing costly accidents that can paralyze highways and sections of cities for hours at a time, wasting fuel and cargo. Don Osterberg, vice president of safety and driver training for Schneider National, Inc., headquartered in Green Bay, Wis., said reducing speed a few miles per hour can lessen the severity of truck crashes. "By reducing speed, you substantially reduce the kinetic energy of trucks," he said. Speed limiters, Osterberg said, may also help motorists feel more at ease. "Let's face it," he said. "People are frightened of sharing the road with large trucks driving excessively fast." Terry Lamb, a driver for Little Rock-based Quality Trucking, said he opposes mandatory speed limiters. Lamb said the devices would contribute to highway safety only if all vehicles were required to use them. "If you're going to do it in one vehicle, you should do it in all vehicles -- cars, trucks, whatever--because I just don't see the benefit of it," Lamb said. He said speed governing devices prevent trucks from keeping up with traffic, increasing the chances of collisions. "When other vehicles are traveling at 75 to 80 mph and trucks are limited to 65 or under, that creates a risky environment," he said. David Humphrey, director of investor relations at Arkansas Best Corp., the parent company of Fort Smith-based ABF Freight System, Inc., said the company already requires devices for its trucks that hold drivers under 65 mph. Humphrey said the devices contribute to the company's safety record and improve its fuel economy. "There's economic advantages because you get better gas mileage with your equipment," he said. The American Trucking Associations recognized ABF Freight System, Inc., with its highest safety award for the fifth time in the company's history in 2003, according to the company's Web site. In a report to Congress last March, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration stated that traveling too fast for road conditions was the second most frequent factor in all large truck crashes that resulted in injury or fatality. An estimated 22.9 percent of all trucks involved in crashes during the three year study were traveling too fast, the study said. Prescription drug use among truck drivers was the most frequently cited factor in truck crashes, at 26.3 percent, the study said. The public can send comments to the agencies before March 27 at Docket Management, Room PL-401, 400 Seventh St. S.W. Washington, D.C. 20590. |
