Federal authorities have abandoned plans to impose speed limiters on large commercial vehicles.
In a controversial move, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), through the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), has officially withdrawn the proposed speed limiter rule for heavy vehicles in July 2025. The rule, which would have mandated speed limiters between 60-68 mph on heavy trucks weighing more than 26,000 pounds, aimed to reduce deadly crashes involving speeding heavy vehicles.
The withdrawal of the rule was justified by the USDOT based on several factors. These include significant data gaps and insufficient evidence in earlier rulemaking about safety benefits and economic impacts, public comments overwhelmingly opposing the rule, advancements in crash prevention technologies like automatic emergency braking (AEB) and forward collision warning, concerns that mandated speed limits below common highway speed limits could reduce truck daily travel distances and create economic burden, and potential federalism issues, as the rule might conflict with state speed limit authority.
However, the National Safety Council (NSC) strongly criticized the withdrawal, warning it is a rollback of a decades-long effort to reduce speed-related fatalities involving heavy trucks. The NSC emphasized that speed limiters have been shown to save lives by limiting truck speeds and reducing crash severity. The organization urged the DOT to reconsider, highlighting the loss of a safety technology that could prevent fatal accidents.
The rule would have mandated the use of speed limiters on multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks, buses, and school buses weighing more than 26,000 pounds. The decision to withdraw the speed limiter rule ends more than 20 years of regulatory work aimed at curbing speed-related traffic fatalities.
Safety advocates warn that abandoning speed limiter rules now could have deadly consequences. Lorraine Martin, president and CEO of the National Safety Council, stated that the decision is about protecting families and professional drivers alike. In 2023, speeding was a factor in 29% of all traffic deaths, claiming the lives of 11,775 people, or an average of more than 32 fatalities every day.
The withdrawal of the speed limiter rule comes despite government studies showing that speed limiters work in reducing crashes and fatalities involving heavy commercial vehicles. For instance, a 2012 FMCSA study found that trucks equipped with speed limiters had significantly lower crash rates. USDOT estimates that capping truck speeds at 65 mph could prevent nearly 5,000 injuries and save over 200 lives each year.
As the U.S. grapples with rising fatalities involving large commercial vehicles, the withdrawal of the speed limiter rule has sparked heated debate. While USDOT cites uncertainties in safety benefits and prefers newer safety technologies, critics say withdrawing the speed limiter rule could negatively impact road fatalities by removing an established method to control heavy truck speeds and reduce fatal crashes. The National Safety Council is a 110-year-old nonprofit dedicated to eliminating preventable deaths and injuries, and it continues to advocate for the reconsideration of the speed limiter rule.
- The withdrawal of the speed limiter rule by the USDOT, despite government studies indicating its effectiveness in reducing crashes and fatalities involving heavy commercial vehicles, has raised concerns within the industry, particularly within safety advocacy groups, as they believe that abandoning these rules could lead to an increase in road fatalities.
- In the wake of rising fatalities involving large commercial vehicles, the finance sector and transportation industry are closely monitoring the ongoing debate surrounding the speed limiter rule, with stakeholders expressing differing views on the impact of this decision on safety, economic factors, and the balance of authority between federal and state regulatory bodies.
