GRAIN VALLEY, Mo. — American fleet owners aren’t exactly following suit with their Canadian neighbours in giving the thumbs-up to a proposal that would legislate speed limiters on all trucks.

Last week Today’s Trucking reported that the American Trucking Association has “endorsed a move to limit the maximum speed of large trucks, at the time of manufacture, to no more than 68 mph.”

The move seemed to mirror the original plan put forth last summer by the Ontario Trucking Association to cap speed on trucks. The OTA’s proposal, if okayed by the Ontario Ministry of Transportation, would require engines on all trucks be governed at no more than 105 km/h. The association made no secrets about promoting the plan continent-wide.

It was believed last week that the ATA would mirror such a plan, and an ATA source quoted in the Omaha World Herald hinted the group would support a similar mandate.

American truckers support speed limiters too – sort of

However, speaking this week on Land Line Now, the radio station owned by the Grain Valley, Mo.-based Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, ATA media spokesman Mike Russell confirmed that “at the time of manufacture” does not in fact indicate support for a nation-wide requirement.

Russell went on to say that ATA does not intend to pursue a legislative mandate, rather that the group would encourage OEMs to voluntarily set speed limiters at 68 mph. The customer, then, would have the option of requesting a higher setting.

Calls to Russell weren’t returned by the time of this posting.

OOIDA director of regulatory affairs Rick Craig told TodaysTrucking.com this morning that the ATA seems to be back peddling. After all, acknowledges Craig, if customers can demand the ECM be set to their own specifications, it effectively renders moot any speed limit proposal.

He says ATA has gone on record in the past against regulations mandating speed limiters.

OOIDA joined the Ottawa-based Owner-Operator’s Business Association of Canada in opposing the OTA’s proposal north of the border. Both groups have submitted documents and studies to government officials showing speed limiters have no major impact on highway safety and, in some cases, actually increase the risk of collision to motorists.

Yesterday, the Ontario Trucking Association released a survey by IntelliPulse in Toronto that showed that 71 percent of Ontarians either “strongly support or somewhat support” mandatory speed limiters on all trucks; while 79 percent think speed limiters would have varying degrees of effect on improving highway safety. (Read the whole story by clicking on the related stories link below).

Craig echoed OBAC Executive Director Joanne Ritchie’s criticism of the survey. “It just reeks of PR spin. That’s the kind of stuff that sucks in the mainstream motoring public,” he said.

The OTA denies that most grassroots truckers oppose their plan, which, OTA insists, would level the playing field for members that currently obey traffic laws. The group recently released a list of comments from former drivers-turned member carriers that say the plan would benefit drivers by reducing pressure to speed and relieving stress, among other reasons.