Group Letter in Support of Speed Limiter Amendment to INVEST in America Act
Dear Chairman DeFazio,
On behalf of a broad coalition consisting of leaders of the trucking industry, safety advocates and other important stakeholders, we urge you to support an amendment, which would incorporate the language in S.3005 into the Invest in America Act.
Including this bi-partisan amendment would save lives at a minimal cost while preventing a minority of trucking companies from continuing to use speed to gain a competitive advantage over safety-conscious companies that speed limit their trucks. Nearly all trucks of the size this pertains to already have had this capability built in since the 1990’s, so no capital cost is involved in requiring such trucks to use it. Leading trucking companies, including all of them represented by the organizations below, have used their speed limiters for decades because doing so is both safer and more profitable.
A very important added benefit is that this amendment incentivizes companies to invest in and use advanced safety technologies (like automatic emergency braking) that have proven to greatly reduce the risk of truck crashes and truck crash severity, on their existing trucks. The language is amenable to so many diverse interests because it strikes a balance between safety and innovation. It exactly reflects the American Trucking Association’s recently updated policy on this topic.
Also, a national poll of likely voters shows an overwhelming 79% support for such a safety enhancement. Only 13% oppose.
This is an opportunity to improve the safety of the existing fleet of our largest trucks as well as the profitability of the entire trucking industry. We urge you to support this life-saving amendment.
Sincerely,
Trucking Alliance*
Truckload Carriers Association
Institute for Safer Trucking
Road Safe America
AAA
National Coalition for Safer Roads
* Trucking Alliance represents Cargo Transporters, Dupré Logistics, JB Hunt Transport, KLLM Transport Services, Knight Transportation, Maverick Transportation LLC, Swift Transportation, US Xpress, May Trucking Company.