Speed of Big Trucks to be Limited by On-board Device?
The speed of tractor trailers driving on the roads in Canada may be limited by an on-board speed limiter device pursuant to a new law being proposed in Ontario, Canada. In March of 2008, a bill was introduced in the Ontario, Canada legislature that would limit the maximum speed of big trucks operating in Ontario to 65 miles per hour.
The speed limit law would work by requiring the installation of an electronic microchip into the engines of big trucks (or semi trucks, 18 wheelers or tractor trailers, as they are often called) which would prevent the truck's speed from exceeding 65 miles per hour. The purpose for the proposed law is safety related as fewer speeding tractor trailers on the road would result in fewer and less serious accidents. The speed limiters would also increase fuel efficiency and reduce harmful emissions into the environment.
In a letter sent to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration last year, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety urged those organizations to grant petitions seeking a rule that would require large trucks in the United States to have similar devices that would limit their maximum speed to 68 miles per hour. The Insurance Institute indicated that too many of these big trucks were speeding which was an important factor in causing serious injury accidents. According to numerous studies, the rule limiting the speed of large trucks would reduce the number of truck crashes and associated injuries and deaths. The Insurance Institute noted that many European countries, Japan and Australia already require the speed limiting devices on large trucks.
Limiting the maximum speed of large trucks on the roads in the United States would be an effective safety measure that would reduce accidents and resulting injuries. Because of the tremendous size and weight of these tractor trailers creating the potential for significant damages and injuries after an accident coupled with the direct correlation between speed and occurrences of accidents, a rule limiting the speed of big trucks makes sense. Not surprisingly, the public is in support of such a rule. However, there are no rules currently in place in the United States to make the speed limiter devices a requirement.
