FMCSA Abandons Speed Limiter Proposals for Heavy Trucks
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The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has abandoned proposed federal requirements for installation and use of speed limiters on heavy-duty commercial trucks weighing more than 26,000 pounds.
A stated that FMCSA was abandoning a 2016 joint rulemaking proposed in partnership with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that would have mandated speed limiters on all new commercial vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating above 26,000 pounds. Additionally, FMCSA withdrew a 2022 advance notice of proposed rulemaking aimed at requiring motor carriers engaged in interstate commerce to equip heavy commercial motor vehicles with speed-limiting devices.
Regulators never settled on a speed at which the limiters would be set. The two agencies had proposed and sought comment on a range of 60 to 68 mph. The final rule would have required that the maximum speed set when a vehicle was new remain for its entire service life.
The cancellation of these proceedings was propelled by an executive order signed in February by President Donald Trump that required two federal rules be abolished for every new one enacted. Per the Federal Register, the proposed rules ran afoul of current law by extending to the federal government responsibility for setting states’ speed limits, a task historically handled at the state level. The executive order directed the U.S. Department of Transportation — under which FMCSA and NHTSA fall — to “rescind regulations that are unlawful or undermine the national interest.”
Specifically, the notice said the proposals would have created “significant” potential conflict in federal vs. state rights by displacing “state authority to set speed limits for heavy vehicles especially since the 60 mph, 65 mph, and 68 mph speeds considered in the 2016 proposed rule are below the maximum posted daytime speed limits on many roads, including rural interstates in over half of the states.
“Because many states have determined that it is safe for heavy vehicles to operate above 68 mph on certain roads, the rulemaking would, in effect, undercut the ability of those states to set the speed limits they have deemed appropriate on their roadways,” it said.
“This was expected and is consistent with the administration’s deregulatory agenda,” said Dan Horvath, chief operating officer for American Trucking Associations. “We believe USDOT can successfully balance deregulatory actions while enforcing sensible regulations that are on the books, in line with its safety mission.”
Horvath speaks March 10 at the 2025 Technology & Maintenance Council Annual Meeting. (John Sommers II for Transport Topics)
By way of example, the agencies estimated that limiting trucks to 65 mph on the highway could save 63 to 214 lives annually. They also claimed that motor carriers would reap annual cost savings between $209 million and $1.56 billion.
In the July 24 notice, the agencies said they lacked data to estimate the effects of speed reduction on the number of crashes occurring, nor estimate costs or benefits related to crash reductions or increases.
“NHTSA and FMCSA’s research and analyses contained significant data gaps regarding potential safety benefits and economic impacts, and information obtained through the public comment process did not provide the information necessary to proceed to a final rule,” it stated.
The initial proposal received 7,225 mostly mixed comments, while the 2022 proposal garnered 15,638 similarly mixed comments.
“In many cases, a given commenter argued both in support of certain provisions of a proposed rule and in opposition to other provisions,” the notice stated.
The agencies also acknowledged that crash avoidance technologies, including automatic emergency brake systems and forward collision warnings present on newer trucks, are also helping to improve highway safety.
“NHTSA and FMCSA believe a portion of the crashes that they assumed would be mitigated by speed limiters may also be mitigated by AEB and FCW systems,” the agencies stated.
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