The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have withdrawn their rulemaking to require operators of commercial motor vehicles to have speed limiters on their trucks.

Specifically, FMCSA and NHTSA have withdrawn the September 7, 2016, joint Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that proposed to require that heavy vehicles (those with a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 26,000 pounds) be equipped with a speed limiting device that is maintained at a set speed.

FMCSA also withdrew its May 4, 2022, Advance Notice of Supplemental Proposed Rulemaking, which announced FMCSA's intent to proceed with a speed limiter rulemaking. The ANSPRM stated that FMCSA was preparing a Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to propose that motor carriers operating commercial motor vehicles in interstate commerce with a gross vehicle weight or GVWR of at least 26,001 pounds, whichever is greater, and that are equipped with an engine control unit (ECU) capable of governing the maximum speed, be required to limit the CMV to a speed to be determined by the rulemaking and to maintain that ECU setting for the service life of the vehicle.

This latest notice states, "In light of significant policy and safety concerns and continued data gaps that create considerable uncertainty about the estimated costs, benefits, and other impacts of the proposed rule, FMCSA and NHTSA have decided to withdraw the proposal."

This proceeding actually goes back to 2006 when the American Trucking Associations and Road Safe America (along with nine truckload carriers) separately petitioned NHTSA and FMCSA for a rule to require speed limiters on CMVs were set no higher than 68 mph. ATA later amended its position on this issue.

NPTC's latest benchmarking data shows that 86% of respondent private fleets already use speed limiter technology set at various speeds. NPTC's most recent comments to FMCSA stated concerns about imposing a single national speed limit for trucks, arguing that carriers should have flexibility to set their devices at a range of speeds. NPTC also supports vigorous enforcement of existing speed limit laws.