WASHINGTON — The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) has given a sneak peek into its industry survey on speed limiters.

The preliminary report is part of a larger year-long ATRI initiative to analyze the potential safety impacts of speed and speed differentials on trucking safety and operations. The study also examines “ideal” speeds for maximizing different operating objectives such as productivity, safety, and fuel efficiency.

In February, the agency contacted thousands of carriers and owner-operators ranging from dry van fleets, auto carriers, expedited, tank haulers, and other segments.

According to initial results, about 69 percent of carriers surveyed said they use speed governors on at least some fleet vehicles. Furthermore, the average speed governors were set at was 69 mph.

Safety concerns over car, truck speed differential was the
reason most cited by carriers for not utilizing speed limiters.

“While there is too little data at this point to make a strong statistical claim about the relationship between fleet size and governors, important differences in fleet sizes was observed,” the report states.

The average size fleet of carriers not using governors was 114 trucks, compared to the average 1142-truck fleet that do use them — indicating perhaps that smaller fleets are less likely to accept the devices.

Of carriers that did not use governors, the largest percentage (40 %) said safety concerns — mainly car-truck speed differential and impact on traffic flow — was the largest reason cited for not equipping trucks. Another 18.2 percent indicated owner-ops refused them.

Respondents reported varying rates of speeds for setting limiters, with variance based on geographic range, operating truck segments, and age of the vehicles. Overall, the majority of carriers believe the posted speed limit is the safest speed to travel.

Of carriers that did use speed limiters, larger fleets were more likely to set speeds lower than other companies.

While the total average set speed for governors ranged from 60 to 80 mph, an “inverse correlation was seen between governor speed of large and small fleets.” About 34 percent of both small and medium sized fleets said they set speeds at 70 mph or more, while only 15 percent of larger ones set limiters that high.

Interestingly, about 30 percent of carriers said driver tampering was an issue. Nearly 80 percent said there are consequences for fiddling with settings, however, with the most cited penalty being immediate termination.

The ATRI is working on a larger survey in advance to a proposed rule by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, which at the behest of the American Trucking Association, may mandate speed limiters on trucks set at no more than 68 mph.

Here in Canada, the Ontario Trucking Association first developed the idea in 2005 to limit trucks to 105 km/h. Proposals along those lines are in various legislative stages in both Ontario and Quebec.