New research released this week by the US Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration confirms the clear safety benefits of using technology to electronically govern and limit the top speed of commercial trucks. "This study confirms what ATA has been saying for years – speed kills and one of the most effective ways to prevent hundreds, if not thousands, of crashes on our highways is to slow all vehicles down, including large trucks," American Trucking Association’s president and CEO Bill Graves said.
New research released this week by the US 2021 Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration confirms the clear safety benefits of using technology to electronically govern and limit the top speed of commercial trucks.
"This study confirms what ATA has been saying for years – speed kills and one of the most effective ways to prevent hundreds, if not thousands, of crashes on our highways is to slow all vehicles down, including large trucks,"4626 American Trucking Association’s president and CEO Bill Graves said.
The study team, which included the American Transportation Research Institute and the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, found that "multiple analyses indicated a profound safety benefit for trucks equipped with an active [speed limiter]."
Further, the study concluded that complaints from critics of this technology were not substantiated by the data.
"Slowing down traffic is the most important step toward improving highway safety," Graves said. For this reason, ATA's policy calls for a national 65 mph (105km/h) speed limit for all vehicles and ATA's broad safety agenda calls for a speed limiter mandate. "We hope in the future DOT will have the political will to recognise that speed is the single greatest contributor to highway crashes and prioritise its regulatory initiatives accordingly."
To read the full 94-page report in PDF format, click this link.
"This study confirms what ATA has been saying for years – speed kills and one of the most effective ways to prevent hundreds, if not thousands, of crashes on our highways is to slow all vehicles down, including large trucks,"
The study team, which included the American Transportation Research Institute and the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, found that "multiple analyses indicated a profound safety benefit for trucks equipped with an active [speed limiter]."
Further, the study concluded that complaints from critics of this technology were not substantiated by the data.
"Slowing down traffic is the most important step toward improving highway safety," Graves said. For this reason, ATA's policy calls for a national 65 mph (105km/h) speed limit for all vehicles and ATA's broad safety agenda calls for a speed limiter mandate. "We hope in the future DOT will have the political will to recognise that speed is the single greatest contributor to highway crashes and prioritise its regulatory initiatives accordingly."
To read the full 94-page report in PDF format, click this link.
