Driving at high speeds as well as exceeding the legal speed limit (speeding) is a recognized reason for a significant number of fatal motor vehicle accidents in this country. Shocking statistics from the past year have revealed that with the onset of the Coronavirus Pandemic, not only was there a rise in the nation’s traffic fatality rates but many of these crashes were caused by excessive rates of speed at the moment of impact. Drivers are speeding more today than ever before. See, Coronavirus and Fatal Car Crashes: Fatality Rates Jump Despite Emptier Roads.
Of particular concern is the correlation between driving at high speeds and the risk of a fatal collision involving a commercial truck (semi-truck, big rig, tractor-trailer, 18-wheeler). In the past decade, there has been huge rise in the number of fatal semi-truck crashes in this country. Speeding is a recognized cause of fatal truck accidents. For details, read: Speeding and Serious or Fatal Semi-Truck Crashes in Illinois or Indiana.
Fatal Truck Crashes: 48% Increase since 2009
According to the just-released research findings of the Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, there was a “staggering 48% increase” in fatal large truck accidents in 2019, as compared to 2009. See, “Roadmap of State Highway Safety Laws Report,” published January 2021 by the AHAS (“AHAS Report”).
As a result, members of the trucking industry, commercial truck drivers, safety advocates and those advocating for victims of fatal truck crashes are all concerned and considering various ways to combat this unacceptable danger of deadly truck accidents on our roads. Among things being proposed as future federal regulation to improve the safety of commercial truck traffic is mandatory speed limiters on all big rigs, semi-trucks, 18-wheelers, and tractor-trailers. Read, “Trucking Regs in the Fold in 2021: Carriers’ Insurance Minimums, Driver Classification, Speed Limiters, and More,” written by James Jaillet and published by the Commercial Carrier Journal on January 13, 2021.
What is a Speed Limiter?
A “speed limiter” or “speed governor” is a computerized device that can be installed into a commercial truck’s engine that will prevent that rig from exceeding a set rate of speed. Computerized sensors monitor the speed that the truck is being driven. A maximum speed is programmed into the device.
If the truck driver attempts to drive over the maximum speed, as programmed into the device, he or she will not be able to do so. The device itself will automatically block any attempt to drive faster than the set maximum speed by blocking the amount of fuel (and air flow) within the engine itself.
Failed Federal Attempts to Force Mandatory Speed Limiters on Large Trucks
In the past few years, there have been attempts for federally mandated speed limiters on commercial rigs. In 2019, for instance, the Cullum Owings Large Truck Safe Operating Speed Act of 2019 was proposed in the Senate, but failed to become law. It would have required new large commercial trucks (26,001+ lbs. gross weight) to have speed-limiters with a maximum speed of 65 mph.
In 2016, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) attempted to finalize a federal rule that would mandate speed limiters on commercial rigs with maximum speed limits set at 60, 65, or 68 mph. This agency action failed to become law, as well.
Would Mandatory Speed Limiters on Semi Trucks Save Lives?
Some safety advocates propose that installation of speed limiters on commercial trucks would make our roads safer. Looking to the European Union (EU), where speed limiters are required for large trucks, the AHAS suggest that requiring these devices on our big rigs, semi-trucks, and tractor-trailers would prevent fatal accidents and save lives.
From the AHAS Report, page 7:
Several safety improvements on large trucks would curb this needless carnage. Namely, available safety technologies such as AEB and speed limiting devices, already required in the European Union, could be preventing crashes and saving lives if required as standard equipment….
However, professional truck drivers do not agree that forcing installation of speed limiting devices on their rigs by the federal government will accomplish the goal of reducing the danger of fatal large truck crashes. The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) point out the following (in response to the 2016 proposed rule by FMCSA and NHTSA):
- Neither FMCSA nor NHTSA suggested that requiring a speed limiter would reduce large truck accidents. The agencies were of the opinion that mandatory speed limiters would decrease the number of fatal truck crashes. OOIDA research reveals that speed limiters are likely to increase, not decrease, the number of fatal commercial truck accidents, citing to the results after mandatory speed limiters were required in two Canadian provinces.
- Speed limiters result in greater interaction between vehicles on the road, which increases the risk of a crash. When a vehicle is traveling 10 mph below the posted speed limit, its interaction with other vehicles on the road is 227% higher than if it were moving at the posted speed.
- A mandatory speed limiter rule imposed by federal regulation will force more trucks to be on the road. More trucks being driven means a greater risk of an accident.
- Statistics show that most speed-related semi-truck crashes do not correlate to the posted speed limit, but instead to the particular circumstances of the incident: fatal accidents happen when a truck driver is driving too fast for existing road conditions.
The OOIDA also published an online video explaining the position of the independent truck driver to speed limiters that includes an interview with a respected researcher in highways and speed. Watch it on YouTube here.
Fatal Truck Crashes in Indiana and Illinois
Currently, there are semi-trucks driving the roads of Indiana and Illinois with speed limiting devices installed on their rigs. There is no law that forbids any owner or operator or trucking company from placing one of these gizmos on their trucks.
However, they are not legally required. In 2021, many predict that the federal government and the new Biden Administration will revisit the idea of federal law requiring speed limiters on large trucks that move across state lines, as noted in the above-referenced CCJ article.
For those who live and work in Indiana and Illinois, the key issue here is the very real danger of a severe or fatal semi-truck crash where the speed of the vehicle upon impact has been a crucial factor.
Statistics warn that speeding is a huge problem today on our roadways, and we know that the number of fatal truck crashes has steadily grown over the past decade. Sadly, this means there will be tragedies on our roadways in 2021 where speed was a contributing cause in a fatal large truck crash.
Victims of fatal truck accidents in Illinois or Indiana can look to state personal injury and wrongful death laws, as well as product liability and worker’s compensation statutes to help them seek justice in the aftermath of these tragic and preventable truck crashes. For more, see:
- New Insurance Act Will Increase 40 Year Old Insurance Coverage Minimums in Truck Crashes
- Deadly Truck Crashes and New FMCSA Proposed Rollbacks to Hours of Service (HOS) Rules
- Pending Trucking Legislation Before 2021 Indiana Statehouse and the Danger of Fatal Truck Crashes with Faster, Heavier Rigs on our Roads
- Danger of More Fatal Truck Crashes Caused by New 2020 Hours-Of-Service Rules
- Commercial Truck Crashes: FMCSA’s New Study Because of Rising Number of Fatal Semi-Truck Accidents
- Inadequate Truck Driver Training and Fatal Truck Crashes in Indiana or Illinois
- Winter Weather Fatal Truck Crashes on Indiana and Illinois Roads.
Today, vehicles of all sizes and types are speeding on our roads. Please be careful out there!
