Speed limiters & Parking

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From Logistics Management    .....Hippy

Speed limiters are coming

Electronically activated speed limiters are another pending issue before heavy fleets. On this, the industry—or at least that part of it represented by the American Trucking Associations (ATA)—has done a flip-flop.

At the ATA convention in Las Vegas in 2016, president and CEO Chris Spear blasted a federal proposal to require speed limiters in trucks. “Proposing a rule that does not take into account the various differentials in speed between what this rule proposes and what state speed limits are is dangerous,” he said in ATA’s weekly publication.

However, Spear recently dismissed that same concern—still being voiced by the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA)—as “irresponsible.”

The ATA is now backing a rule requiring tamper-proof devices limiting Class 7 and Class 8 trucks to a fixed maximum of between 65 and 70 miles per hour. The Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration (FMCSA) is expected to mandate that commercial trucks have speed limiting devices set to 68 mph, but has not officially issued a rulemaking.

“Forcing trucks to speeds below the flow of traffic increases interactions between vehicles and leads to more crashes,” said OOIDA president Todd Spencer. “It’ll be like an obstacle course for passenger vehicle drivers on our highways…This isn’t safe for truckers, but especially not safe for passenger vehicle drivers sharing the road with trucks. The unintended consequences of this misguided regulation will cost innocent lives.”

Indeed, it’s a hot button issue in the industry. An FMSCA comment period drew more than 16,000 comments on the issue. However, the bill probably have to wait until next year, Congress sources say. “To be clear: a USDOT rule on speed limiters is coming,” ATA said in a post titled “Speed Limiters 101” shortly before Memorial Day.

Since 2009, truck crash deaths have increased by 71%, with 5,700 lives lost and nearly 155,000 injured in 2021 (the most recent year for which data is available). Speeding continues to be a leading contributing factor in the tragic rise in truck crash deaths and injuries.

Advocates say speed limiters are a proven solution to curbing traffic deaths. Among the proponents are as follows:

• Rulemaking requiring the use of speed limiters in heavy trucks was first proposed by DOT in 2011. By DOT’s estimates, thousands of lives have been lost as a result of lack of implementation.
• Approximately 20% of fatal truck crashes occur at posted speeds 70 mph or higher, according to DOT figures.
• Since 2009, the number of fatal truck crashes involving speeding identified as a driver related factor has increased 50%, according to the DOT’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS).
• Speed limiters are a proven safety countermeasure elsewhere. Speed-related, at-fault collisions involving large commercial vehicles fell by 76% after Ontario introduced speed limiter requirements in 2009, according to the Ontario Ministry of Transportation.
• Trucks using speed limiters were in half as many high-speed collisions as those not using speed limiters, according to the Journal of Intelligent Transportation Systems.
• National survey results show Americans overwhelmingly agree on speed limiter usage in large trucks, with 79% of likely voters in support

Looking for a parking spot

Availability of cheap—or better yet, free—truck parking continues to plague the industry. A truck driver can easily spend over $5,000 annually to pay for overnight parking.

It’s also becoming a safety factor.

Last summer, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) began investigating a Greyhound bus that crashed into three tractor-trailers parked on a rest area ramp in Illinois along Interstate 70 near St. Louis. Three people were killed.

The crash occurred around 2:00 a.m. near the entrance to the Silver Lake Rest Area along I-70 near St. Louis, where the bus was headed.

“Rest area safety is one of the issues that will be a part of this investigation,” NTSB Safety Board member Tom Chapman said after the crash. “We don’t know enough to be able to say with certainty that that’s what occurred, but that’s certainly one of the issues that we’ll be looking at.”

Parking safety for truckers has been a growing issue of concern. The American Transportation Research Institute recently ranked access to safe parking for truckers No. 3 on its Top 10 critical issues for the industry.

Hundreds of millions of dollars in funding are proposed in the Truck Parking Safety Improvement Act introduced by Rep. Mike Bost (R-Ill.). However, that bill’s future is in doubt in Congress.

The Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration recently awarded $80 million in “high priority” grants from the infrastructure law. These grants include a 65% increase in funding for truck parking projects and enhance critical efforts to support truck drivers and improve safety.

They include expanding access to truck parking by helping truck drivers locate available rest area truck parking spaces in real time via dynamic message signs along highways in Kentucky, Delaware, and Indiana.

 

[JoeH]

So put em in cars too.