TAMPA, Fla. — The American Trucking Associations (ATA) has launched its own campaign to mandate the use of speed limiters on trucks.

The ATA’s plan calls for all large trucks to be limited, at the time of manufacture, to no more than 68 mph (109 km/h). The announcement was made at the association’s winter leadership meetings in Tampa.

“There has been a growing sense within the trucking industry for the need to slow down the large truck population as well as all traffic,” said Bill Graves, ATA president and CEO. “With speeding as a factor in one third of all fatal highway crashes, it makes all the sense in the world to work to reduce this number.”

The ATA says about 75 per cent of the trucks on U.S. roads today already have speed governors activated, a recent survey found. The Ontario Trucking Association made a proposal in November that would see all trucks operating in the province restricted to 105 km/h.