Speak Out! Feds Seek Public Comment on Super Fast Semis

ATLANTA--The U.S. Department of Transportation announced January 26 that a petition filed jointly by Road Safe America and a consortium of trucking industry leaders, including Schneider National Inc. and nine other motor carriers is open for public comment. The proposed regulation would affect trucks weighing more than 26,000 lbs. manufactured after 1990 (in 1991 speed governors became standard equipment). It would require electronic speed governors to be set at no more than 68 mph. The public comment period ends on March 27, 2007.

“The 80-mph commercial truck has no place on our highways,” said Steve Owings, who co-founded Road Safe America in honor of his 22-year-old son, Cullum, who died when his vehicle was rear-ended by a speeding truck. “Road Safe America is calling on the driving public to support this lifesaving regulation by filing their comments with The U.S. Department of Transportation immediately (accessible through www.roadsafeamerica.org). The docketing of this proposed rule offers a rare opportunity for all Americans to make their voices heard and save lives on our highways.”

Co-petitioners include Schneider National Inc., C.R. England Inc., H.O. Wolding Inc., ATS Intermodal LLC, Dart Transit Company, J. B. Hunt Transport Inc., U.S. Xpress Inc., Covenant Transport Inc., Jet Express Inc., and Dupre´ Transport LLC. The petition was originally filed on Sept. 11, 2006. Bill Graves, president and CEO of the American Trucking Association (ATA), has already submitted a letter of support for this measure.

“It is shameful that people in this country must live in fear when using the very highways they pay for with their own tax dollars,” Owings continued. “Restricting trucks to 68-miles-per-hour is a way Americans can stand up and say ‘we’re not going to be afraid anymore’. It’s time to be heard and I hope everyone who understands the urgency of this critical issue will let our government know that it’s essential to slow speeding trucks down – and to do it now.”

Comments regarding Docket ID# 26851 can also be filed online at dmses.dot.gov/submit. Alternatively, comments can be mailed to: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of Transportation, 400 Seventh Street SW, Nassif Building, Room PL-401, Washington, D.C. 20590-0001.