U.S. looking at 68-mph speed limiters

WASHINGTON, D.C.  — Speed limiters are going to be the issue du jour in the United States this year.

Last week, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced that it would “agreed to initiate a rulemaking” on the matter.

The most probably end result?

 A new rule, in 2012, making it mandatory that heavy duty trucks set their speed limiters set at 68 mph.

The regulation is a reaction to petitions from, among others, the American Trucking Associations (ATA), Road Safe America, and nine of the biggest carriers in the country, namely Schneider National, C.R. England, H.O Wolding, ATS Intermodal, DART Transit, J.B.Hunt, US Xpress, Jet Express and Covenant Transport.

And predictably, the backlash has begun. First out of the PR gates: The Owner-Operator Independent Driver Association (OOIDA), which has issued its protest.

“Speed limiting a truck at 68 miles per hour, or at any other speed, will not improve highway safety,” said Todd Spencer, executive vice president of OOIDA says.

“All credible highway research shows that highways are safest when all vehicles travel at the same speed and that different speeds for cars and trucks actually increase the likelihood of accidents.”