GRAIN VALLEY, Mo. — The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) is condemning a decision by a group of large US carriers to push for the mandatory use of speed limiters.

The owner/operator group says the proposal is nothing more than an attempt to limit competition cloaked in safety propoganda.

On Oct. 18, a number of large carriers filed petitions with federal transportation agencies calling on them to force the use of speed limiters on privately owned commercial vehicles.

“These petitions are intended to be a Trojan horse for the true objectives of big trucking companies -doing away with current truck size and weight restrictions as well as increasing their importation of cheap, less qualified foreign drivers,” says Todd Spencer, executive vice-president of OOIDA. “They are aimed at limiting competition from the small trucking companies that make up the vast majority of the industry.”

Spencer warns the implementation of speed limiters may just be the tip of the iceberg.

“It is no secret that large trucking corporations want to maximize their profits by opening all national highways to heavier trucks as well as double and triple trailer combinations. Those folks also wish to pad their bottom lines by bringing in exploitable foreign labour instead of paying appropriate wages to American citizens,” Spencer explains.

OOIDA maintains the speed limiter plan is based on profit not safety.

“A critical fact totally ignored by these petitions is that reduced speed promotes safety only if all vehicles are moving at those same reduced speeds,” Spencer adds. “Ironically, should these petitions come to fruition, America’s roads will become much more dangerous to motorists and truckers alike.”