The federal government should expedite plans to require speed limiters on large trucks and extend the requirement to medium-duty trucks, IIHS said in a recent regulatory comment that was posted today. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is considering a proposal to require devices that limit the top speed on commercial vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating over 26,000 pounds. A specific top speed would be determined later in the rulemaking process.
Why this is creeping at an idle rate in the bureaucracy is inexplicable because excessive speed was a factor in about one-third of all US crash deaths during 2020. FMCSA began discussing speed limiters more than a decade ago. (Read AutoInformed on: Covid Lock-downs Caused Ongoing Speeding, Risky Driving)
“Limiting speed is especially important for large trucks,” said Eric Teoh, IIHS director of statistical services. He wrote a comment that said “because of their greater mass, trucks have more momentum and thus require longer stopping distances than smaller vehicles. They also do more damage in the event of a crash. This is true not only for the largest tractor-trailers but also for class 3-6 trucks, which weigh 10,001-26,000 pounds when they are loaded to capacity.”
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has released its early estimate of traffic fatalities for 2021. NHTSA projects that an estimated 42,915 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes last year, a 10.5% increase from the 38,824 fatalities in 2020. The projection is the highest number of fatalities since 2005 and the largest annual percentage increase in the Fatality Analysis Reporting System’s history.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
IIHS Wants Speed limiters on Trucks: ’bout time!
The federal government should expedite plans to require speed limiters on large trucks and extend the requirement to medium-duty trucks, IIHS said in a recent regulatory comment that was posted today. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is considering a proposal to require devices that limit the top speed on commercial vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating over 26,000 pounds. A specific top speed would be determined later in the rulemaking process.
Why this is creeping at an idle rate in the bureaucracy is inexplicable because excessive speed was a factor in about one-third of all US crash deaths during 2020. FMCSA began discussing speed limiters more than a decade ago. (Read AutoInformed on: Covid Lock-downs Caused Ongoing Speeding, Risky Driving)
“Limiting speed is especially important for large trucks,” said Eric Teoh, IIHS director of statistical services. He wrote a comment that said “because of their greater mass, trucks have more momentum and thus require longer stopping distances than smaller vehicles. They also do more damage in the event of a crash. This is true not only for the largest tractor-trailers but also for class 3-6 trucks, which weigh 10,001-26,000 pounds when they are loaded to capacity.”
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has released its early estimate of traffic fatalities for 2021. NHTSA projects that an estimated 42,915 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes last year, a 10.5% increase from the 38,824 fatalities in 2020. The projection is the highest number of fatalities since 2005 and the largest annual percentage increase in the Fatality Analysis Reporting System’s history.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.