The Trump administration is not expected to move forward with a proposal to mandate speed limiters on commercial motor vehicles. A House bill aims to stop future administrations from doing so.
Rep. Josh Brecheen, R-Okla., reintroduced the DRIVE Act on Thursday, April 10. The Deregulating Restrictions on Interstate Vehicles and Eighteen Wheelers Act would prohibit the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration from issuing any rule or regulation that requires speed limiters on large commercial motor vehicles.
“Under the Biden Administration, we saw blatant overreach that would have required speed-limiters as low as 60 mph for heavy-duty trucks,” Brecheen said. “For example, if a rancher is transporting tractors across state lines, under this rule, the federal government would require a speed limiter device when above 26,000 pounds. I have spent years driving a semi hauling heavy equipment and years in different ranch vehicles hauling livestock and farm equipment. Safety is enhanced in keeping with the flow of traffic as set by state law, not on a one-size-fits-all regulation enforced by bureaucrats in Washington. The DRIVE Act will ensure a future administration cannot revive this dangerous rule.”
Opponents of FMCSA’s speed limiter proposal argue that the rule would create unnecessary congestion and dangerous speed differentials between large trucks and passenger vehicles, resulting in increased vehicle interactions and crashes.
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association supports the DRIVE Act.
“Nobody understands and appreciates road safety more than truck drivers,” OOIDA President Todd Spencer said. “We want to get to our destination as safely as possible just like everyone else on the road. A federal speed limiter mandate would force trucks to speeds below the flow of traffic, increasing interactions between vehicles and leading to more crashes. It would be like an obstacle course for passenger vehicle drivers on our highways. OOIDA and our 150,000 members in small-business trucking across America thank Rep. Brecheen for his leadership in working to keep our roadways safe for truckers and for all road users by fighting to prevent a speed limiter mandate.”
Speed limiter proposal
In 2022, FMCSA issued an advance notice of supplemental proposed rulemaking that considered requiring commercial motor vehicles with a gross vehicle weight of 26,001 pounds or more to be equipped with speed-limiting devices. A top speed was not determined in the advance notice, but safety groups advocated for a top speed of 60 mph.
The proposal received more than 15,000 comments, and the majority of those comments came from truck drivers who oppose a mandate. Although the overwhelming amount of opposition did not stop the previous administration from moving forward with the rulemaking, it did prevent the administration from finalizing a rule before its term was over.
History provides reason to think that speed limiters won’t be a priority for President Donald Trump and his administration. FMCSA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration also were working on a speed limiter rulemaking in 2016. That year, the agencies unveiled a joint proposal and noted the rulemaking in the fall 2016 regulatory agenda. Trump then took office in January 2017, and the rulemaking was left off the spring 2017 agenda.
Brecheen’s bill would take the proposal completely off the table and prevent future administrations from resurrecting the idea.
Previous session
Brecheen also introduced the DRIVE Act in the previous congressional session. The bill received 43 Republican co-sponsors.
When the bill was introduced in 2023, Brecheen told Land Line Now that FMCSA’s speed limiter proposal created a states’ rights issue.
Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., also introduced the legislation. The Senate version gained 12 Republican co-sponsors.
The DRIVE Act also is supported by the American Farm Bureau Federation, Associated Equipment Distributors, Mid-West Truckers Association, National Association of Small Trucking Companies, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, North American Punjabi Trucking Association, Towing and Recovery Association of America and United States Cattlemen’s Association. LL
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