Safety group ‘deeply disturbed’ that DOT pushed speed limiter and automatic braking rules to 2025

The Truck Safety Coalition (TSC) told transportation officials that they are “dismayed, disappointed, and deeply disturbed” that rulemaking on heavy truck speed limiters and automatic emergency braking systems has been pushed back to 2025.

The TSC, a safety group representing crash victims, used a scathing July 15 letter to U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to condemn the agency for failure to move ahead with speed limiter and automatic emergency braking system rules, calling the failure to move forward “shameful and unacceptable.”

The Heavy Vehicle Speed Limiter final rule was expected in 2023 and then in May 2024, but publication has been pushed to May 2025. The Heavy Vehicle Automatic Emergency Braking final rule expected in June 2024 has also been pushed back to 2025.

The group also needled DOT for slow progress on enacting a New Entrant Proficiency Exam for new carriers, pointing to a recent fatal crash caused by “a new carrier that admitted it never knew the rules required to operate safely, intentionally evaded detection by FMCSA New Entrant Audit personnel, and caused a fatal crash just 8 days after being “automatically” reinstated despite a voluminous violation history.”

“It is no exaggeration to say DOT has failed to deliver on its stated promises to truck crash victims and survivors. Sympathy is quick to be extended yet results remain elusive. DOT felt no obligation to provide a statement explaining these failures, leaving victims and survivors to speculate as to the reasons, but left little doubt that the Department feels no semblance of accountability to this class of stakeholders,” the group wrote.

“It is not hyperbole to say that more lives will be lost, and families forever destroyed by further delay. We implore you to accept no excuses and take all measures necessary to embody your mission to reduce crashes, injuries, and fatalities involving large trucks and buses in word and deed,” the TSC concluded.