Braking Well More rules for truck stopping distances expected


By Todd Traub Contributing Writer


When it comes to slowing down,


the trucking industry couldn’t get there fast enough. Usually wary of new rules and


regulations, the industry has long been prepared to embrace commercial vehicle stopping-distance rules introduced by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) more than three years ago. NHTSA added a provision to


Federal Motor Safety Vehicle Safety Standards (FMSVSS) 121, geared to trucks of different sizes and weights, that basically reduces a typical tractor- trailer’s stopping distance by 30 percent


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in an effort to prevent serious and fatal accidents. The rules had been in the works


close to a decade when they were intro- duced in July 2010. The phasing in pro- cess began in 2011, and many trucking companies indicated they were ready to comply even before the second phase went into effect in August. “This is a great example of how the


government did it right,” said Dennis “D.C.” Collins, west regional manager for Haldex Brake Products Corp. Because the rules were a perfor-


mance and manufacturing mandate and not a component mandate that would have forced fleets to adapt exist-


 ARKANSAS TRUCKING REPORT | Issue 5 2013


“IT TOOK VERY LITTLE ENGINEERING TO ACTUALLY ADAPT THESE VEHICLES TO


REDUCE THE STOPPING DISTANCE.”


—DENNIS COLLINS, REGIONAL MANAGER,


HALDEX BRAKE PRODUCTS


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