Here is a letter written by a 27yr veteran truck letter to Road safe America regarding speed limiters in big rig trucks.

I've been a professional commercial driver for 23 years, I've never had a speeding ticket while driving a commercial vehicle. Your idea that speed limitiers will make roads safer is completely false. They will NOT make roads safer, they will cause more rear end collisions of cars into the back of trucks, more congestion as the trucks won't be able to pass one another as quickly if they need to. It's bad enough now if I'm passing another truck and don't get out of a 4 wheelers way fast enough, I get flipped off, cut off, brake checked enough now the way it is, your proposal will only make it worse. Good move!!!!!! The comment made about commercial vehicles having the technology for speed limiters, well automobiles have that SAME technology, so if we are going to be stuck at 65 mph, then so should the soccer mom with 4 kids in the back, the cell phone in one ear and a cigarette in the other cutting across 4 lanes to make her exit, she doesn't need to go any faster then 65 mph. This scenerio happens to me more than not while I'm running in the right lane with 2 cars in my trailer that cost more than $300,000 each, doing 65 mph, trying to not get in an accident and stay out of everyone's way. Yet, you want to slow me down because your afraid I might run into the back of someone. How about going after the people who feel they have to cut in front of me even though there's not a car behind me for 100 yards. If you want to make the roads safer, teach people how to drive around commercial vehicles. I've VOLUNTEERED to go to driver's ed courses and courses like B.R.A.K.E.S and Richard Petty's advanced driver's ed courses and you know what, THEY don't want anyone to spend time teaching driver's how to act around a large vehicle. Most people are taught that trucks are big and slow and are holding them up, what you're proposing only makes it worse, AND will cause more accidents. I think you all need to go out and ride in a truck, not sit behind a desk and THINK you know what you're talking about. In case you're wondering, I've driven for some of the safest companies in the nation, driven vehicles that cost close to $1,000,000, driven vehicles into areas to do entertainment shows and been told a truck has never been in there before. I have government clearances to go into areas that most people could never go. And, was involved in a fatal accident when a car crossed the highway and plowed head-on into my semi in my lane causing it to go off the road and roll over. I've looked in my rearview mirror and watched as cars swerved coming up behind me almost causing accidents because I was REQUIRED by law to drive a slower speed than non-commercial vehicles and these vehicles almost ran into the back of me. If you want to make the roads safer, come and talk to a professional driver, we are as much or more for safety than you are. Our lives are put on the line everyday by people who shouldn't be on the road. I know you think you are doing the right thing by trying to implement speed limiters, but it's not going to make it any safer out there. What is safer is if all vehicles are traveling the same speed. Thanks for your time and please reconsider what you are proposing.


Their response back to me.

It is clear from your record that you are an excellent driver and have a remarkable history on the road. If only every trucker were so professional. Sadly, the four-wheeler is often the cause of major crashes with heavy commercial vehicles. And like you, RSA works to train the common driver how to be more safety concious. But we are adament that the 80,000 pound vehicle being driven by the professional driver is the vehicle that kills, even if they are not the cause of the crash. If we can make the crash less dramatic by slowing down the big rigs, we are likely to save lives no matter who is at fault.

Please be safe out there.

(Notice they safe it is mostly the 4 wheelers fault, but still , let's punish the trucks.)

My response back to them.

It's not going to save any more lives, and although you don't want to hear this, limiting all trucks to 65 mph will cause more accidents than it prevents because of impatient drivers trying to get around the trucks,


I understand your point, but after being on the roads for 23 years, I've seen cars and light trucks do the EXACT same thing you saying the commercial trucks do. I've been at accident scenes and watched cars run right into other stopped vehicles, even striking stopped emergency vehicles.

Now, one thing you need to consider, slowing down the trucks will cause more congestion, especially if the non commercial vehicles are running faster, it's going to put MORE trucks on the road, so, it's not making it any safer.


If you're on Facebook, look up "The Lockridge Report" it has alot of this info on it and how to comment to the DOT on this. If yo umake a comment, please be smart about this, don't put "THIS SUCKS!", that's not gonna impress anyone. Now you may think, "This doesn't apply to me." One accident in the right area, and it will. Whoever thought the would be emissions equipment on a diesel? Time to act now. Also, that technology is ALREADY in your truck, it just isn't turned on.

http://www.roadsafeamerica.org/index.php

Also know that RSA gets money from an INSURANCE company..........