Truckers Back a National 65-mph Speed Limit

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In Europe trucks are limited to 56 mph by law. Removing the limiter to allow a higher operating speed is a crime punishable by up to 11 years in jail. American roads are far more dangerous than the European network, the standard of driving is appalling and the legal right to undertake on the highway dangerous and absurd.

Michael Prince of MI 7:33PM January 01, 2012

Let these morons all for speed regulation be the rats in cage down the road.
They have ruined this industry, I'm getting into a new trade soon. I have my CDL but I can maybe use it to play Monopoly with or throw it in the small blind of a Texas hold em game because that's all its f***in good for now.
These people are idiotic and obviously don;t drive for a living. Same people for speed regulation are the ones who pull their obese rears in the back row, put their sleeper curtains up and turn that CB on ole 19 talking shiit.
And you people pray to the guy upstairs?
Pray he gives you a brain churchiac!

DonnyBoy of NY 12:04PM March 24, 2010

three things that usualy go together out here from what i have seen... fast truck, big mouth and loud CB. the guys that you hear complain about 62mph trucks getting in ther way are also always the ones that will pass you up 10 times in an 11 hour period becouse they have to stop at every truck stop they come across and BS.
I drive 62 mph, always have and from the looks of things probly always will! i have no problem dooing it either! if your falling asleep at the wheel it has nothing to do with how fast your going its probly becouse you do other things then sleeping at the truck stop!! I can drive 682 miles in an 11 hor period, thats 4092 miles in six days and still have 4 hours left on my 70 hour rule! that comes to $1309.00! so I would like to know how you think its costing me or any one else any money to go slower the only TRUCKS i see in the ditch are the ones that wher going TO FAST FOR CONDITIONS!! Not to slow! and as far as pulling a hill the 5 to 10 miles an hour faster you are goin just means you make it an extra 10 feet further up than i do befor you slow dow and too!
As far as the manor in which poeple drive and speeding threw the truck stops, that has nothing to do with what the truck is governed at! it boils down to lack of experiance and respect for them selves and anyone else on the roads or around them! they didnt get tought those things from the instructor that gave them the CDL they learned it from the guy that has bin driving for three months and his company decided that he is now qualified to train!
mabey if instead of griping about the problems you see out here you did something about them, like put all that experiance you say you have to use take up training then your automaticly getting a 4-5 cent raise plus you get paid for all the miles the student drives!
then when the idiot pegs the motor up to 1800rpm and slaps the jakes on high and dumps the rpms, you'll be sitting right beside him and you can smack him upside the head and tell him to get the hell out of your truck! then mabey he'll think twice about being an idiot next time! but no these guys that have bin out here as they say 20-30 years would rather just sit and complain about it than do something!
but you know what its my choise and i dont care if they set it at 45 miles per hour ill still be out here putsing up and down the highway trying to get away with 47! becouse I love this job! I know i signed away all my rights when i got my CDL, and that sounds messed up but after flipping burgers part time at night and doing construction duriing the day trying to make ends meat this job is cake!

David Carmichiel of PA 10:09PM December 07, 2009

Of course those big fat unionized truckers want to slow down! It means more paid hours for them, no excuse for taking so much time, but what about competition? And the danger of falling asleep behind the wheel? And the additional costs for consumers? If it would make economic sense for small trucking companies to slow down, they would have already done, but they are too busy struggling and they don't ahve the budget to lobby like this big fat ATA.And what about us motorists? It's not our business if you want to drive like turtles, you just can't slow down the whole country like that.

Larry Eastus of NY 3:33PM May 14, 2009

My husband drives a truck. His truck was turned back last week. He's been out in Texas for two days. HE had to sleep in his truck one night.His truck will only idle for 30 minutes. That means only 30 minutes of Air condition. This is not fair to anyone.If trucks are getting late to delivery, it isn"t the drivers fault".Thank You for hearing me out. Ruthann Coyle Bardstown KY

RuthAnn coyle of KY 7:25PM July 20, 2008

A national speed limit means this trucker is done driving trucks. Struggling to stay awake because I'm not doing anything (like driving) at, say, 65 MPH is not how I want to spend my life. Driving a slow truck is like sitting in a prison cell. I won't work at any job on which time doesn't fly. At 65 MPH I look at the clock expecting to see 4 PM and see noon instead. That's unacceptable. A slow truck grinds enjoyment into longsuffering. I'm not the least interested in that and won't, can't, exist that way. I suppose I could jerk off to magazines for something to do while nodding off and on down the Interstate. But that would be double-whammy dangerous. Nor have I the least interest in adding an hour or two to my work days (for the same pay) and/or earning perhaps between $160 to $200 less per week due to being frustrated in, and prevented from, doing my job. I won't do carpentry with a plastic hammer and I won't drive a truck that isn't allowed to be a truck, such as one that can't get up the hill, pass safely on two-lane highways and makes motorists angry when taking too long to pass on an Interstate. Another thing I notice about slow trucks: not a few whose daily agony is to have to drive one tend to drive more selfishly because they must, and often drive faster down urban streets or through truck stops because they can. They subconsciously balance out the energy: they can finally GO, after being STOPPED from going hour upon trapped hour. In contrast, I can afford to drive more politely, don't need to cut motorists off as much, and turtle my way through truck stops. Going as fast as I want down the big road removes those kinds of pressure. A secretary who types 70 WPM with perfect accuracy isn't going to last long on a job where she's asininely constrained to type 40 WPM. As for safety on the road, get off of it, because you've accomplished your destination - instead of still holding your arm out the window in icy wind to prevent hallucinating.

Larry Tipton of CO 7:05PM July 20, 2008

In order for the Federal government to get back into the speed-limit business again, they will FIRST have to draft, ratify and try to get the states to amend the US Constitution to repeal states' rights. I doubt the states will go for that.
Some of you might remember, but back in 1984, a person challenged the constituionality of the (then) 55 mph national speed limit as a violation of state's rights....and won. The main reason that President Clinton signed the repeal of the national speed limit in 1995 was, quoting him, "restoring states' rights".
So, any kind of national speed limit would be, at a minimum,. 3-4 years away.

Kevin w. of AZ 12:45PM July 01, 2008

Wow, smart.

DonnyBoy of NY 5:45PM June 17, 2008

I see more idiot four wheelers( that's cars to you oil addict worrier) speeding and being morons while driving than I ever did a JB Hunt driver or a Swift driver. Some of them teamster drivers ( yellow, roadway, ABF) have very good drivers most of them, and the fact they are so used to going slow, I fear they could never operate a faster truck if they had the chance when things change, it just hurts the industry and a skillful trade in the long run , and allows elephant races with giant vehicles on the highway, making it more unsafe. It would be like you having a governor on your car and your late for work, if you could pass a slow moving farm vehicle with the speed you'd punch in on time, but you cant, so you mope along and get road hypnotized, next thing you know you're eating chrome bumper and windshield crumbs!
Sure it;s easy to say leave earlier, true, but how many people do you know are perfect and leaving ont ime every single trip?
You must have alot of time and no lives. GET REAL!!
The people against free speed are the ones who speed the most. Remember that.
It saddens me that alot of the fellows in office jobs now who were once truck drivers and had non governed trucks are not preaching and bragging boosting speed limiters because they are getting paid and feeding their greedy chunk faces on company funds. Shame on you "company men", go play some more golf, your so full of buffalo chips! LOL!
A company small or medium should disregard a safety director or safety office person at all costs! I was hired by a few I won't mention any names and they were just there to get paid and fill a position to increase a number of employees for state benefits and to be kiss butts at the place. Also, you waste more fuel and decrease the life of an engine by dumping governed fuel rather than letting the driver manage his own speed with the pedal. Uphills and grades are a prime example of wasted fuel by speed governors. Good day brainiacs.
BTW I am a ten year experienced driver with a Bass Pro Shops hat and a co. driver with a Ken Worth. this industry is cut-throat and you need to suport your family and stay afer for them.
Fastertruck.com is the way to go!
Thanks.

DonnyBoy of NY 5:41PM June 17, 2008

For our company, back in 2005 when fuel was nearly half of what it is today, every tenth of a mpg saved was approximately equal to saving $100,000 per year. Yeah, that doesn't sound like much to you hot shots on here. By governing our fleet of 125 trucks to 65mph from 67mph we've already seen nearly a half mpg increase in efficiency. A fifth grade math student could tell you how it work kids. So you go ahead and throw your "state's rights" crap out there. Next time you're driving down the highway in your car or truck, try letting of the accelerator for a bit, set your cruise at 62 instead of 65 and I can almost guarantee you'll see about 2 mpg change. I drive a 2004 Dodge Ram with a Hemi engine in it at 60 mph and I get nearly 22 mpg, meanwhile my friend who drives the same truck with a smaller engine get 16 if he's lucky. Find the correlation there, it shouldn't be too hard for you.
We all need to find a smarter way to drive, if it's driving slower, getting a more fuel efficient vehicle or car pooling. This problem isn't going to go away on it's own, and I for one don't want to wait for Captiol Hill to come up with some 10 year plan, we need to do something starting today and every person who drives is responsible.

Chad Hewitt of ME 2:16PM June 08, 2008