McNally said research has found


that there could be a safety issue when trucks are speed limited well below the speed limit for passenger car vehicles, but more research is needed. He said the national association will file comments and work with the federal agencies to address its concerns. The Arkansas Trucking


Association’s board of directors supports speed limiters and a national common speed limit across all states for both passenger vehicles and commercial vehicles. However, the association is not fond of the proposed rule. At the board’s November meet-


ing, ATA President Shannon Newton discussed the American Trucking Associations’ opposition to the proposed rule after she attended the annual American Trucking Associations’ Management Conference and Exhibition in Las Vegas. Newton said the issue was a hot topic of discussion. There were attempts to change the poli- cy, but nothing gained a consensus. Newton said government regula-


tors did not pay enough attention to the speed differential with passenger car traffic. Many state associations have policies for speed limiters but against speed differentials, which made it hard- er to arrive at agreement. “In this case, where one was pro-


posed without addressing the other, there were many entities that felt as though they could not support one without the other,” she said. Another concern among many in


the industry is the apparent lack of sci- ence behind the numbers. The proposal lists three speeds without offering any data as to which is best, meaning there apparently isn’t any evidence to suggest one over the others. Those numbers, or any proposed by motor carriers, will be decided by public input, which means the industry will be fragmented in its response. David O’Neal, Arkansas Trucking Association’s director of safety services, said, “The proposed rule doesn’t define … what the maximum speed should be. It gives three options and throws it back in the lap of the


20


industry to say, ‘Pick your poison.’” Newton said being given a choice


of three speed limits puts the industry in an awkward situation. “Regulatory rulemakings shouldn’t


be a multiple choice exam. The agency should do their homework, propose a rule and then let the industry offer its input,” she said. Also, Newton said the proposed


rule doesn’t address retrofits or specify


position puts him at odds with both the state and national associations, who argue that a single speed limit would improve safety across the nation’s high- ways.


Carman runs mostly in the


Midwest and started governing his trucks at 68 back when states started pushing the speed limit to 70. He says that’s an efficient, safe, reasonable speed. “I think it’s dangerous to say it’s a


“GROWING UP IN


THE BUSINESS WITH A TRUCK DRIVER’S PERSPECTIVE,


EVERYBODY GETS ALONG WHEN WE’RE


RUNNING AT THE FLOW OF TRAFFIC,”


—GREG CARMAN, PRESIDENT OF CARMAN, INC.


exactly which vehicles would be subject to the proposed rule. She asked who would be responsible: the manufacturer or the company? “The rule feels rushed, despite


being under discussion for the better part of a decade. There were a lot of things that weren’t addressed, so I think the industry’s response generally has been in support of it, but the agencies failed to consider or did not thoroughly vet all these additional issues that would be closely associated or created with pursuing any one of those speed limits,” she said. For some, the problem is the single


speed limit. Greg Carman of Carman, Inc., who is a member of the Arkansas Trucking Association’s board of direc- tors, said different states have different speed limits based on what’s appropriate for their geography and levels of con- gestion, and he likes it that way. That


one-size-fits-all for everyone,” he said. “I just don’t think it’s commonsensical to have the same speed limit for every particular truckline in every geographi- cal area of the country. I definitely think we need to have a mechanism to run a safe, reasonable speed, but I’m not so sure that saying that there’s one speed out there that fits everyone every- where is a solution.” Carman said having different speed


limits for trucks and passenger cars can lead to safety problems. Looking back through his own experiences, he said, “Growing up in the business with a truck driver’s perspective, everybody gets along when we’re running at the flow of traffic,” he said. “You’ve got a five- or ten-mile per hour difference, I think it causes more problems than it fixes, even from a safety standpoint. … We are safer if we’re running with the flow of traffic.” Carman said mandated speed lim-


iters will lead to trucks driving side by side for miles down the interstate as one tries to get around the other. Those situations increase drivers’ stress levels. “I don’t think it’s been well thought


out, really,” he said. Dennis Hilton, vice president of


safety for CalArk, sees that situation also creating frustration for passenger car drivers. When trucks are going slower than the rest of the traffic, it’s going to cause congestion. “When you go and put every truck


at the same speed, the American pub- lic is going to wonder who made that choice. … It’s going to make people take risks that they probably wouldn’t have taken before,” he said. ATR


Issue 6 2016 | ARKANSAS TRUCKING REPORT


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