Bill to stop FMCSA from enacting speed limiter mandate reintroduced
A newly introduced bill seeks to prevent the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) from moving ahead with a pending rule requiring speed limiters on heavy-duty trucks.
The FMCSA is expected to publish a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for the Heavy Vehicle Speed Limiters rule (also known as the speed limiter mandate) in the spring of 2025, but lawmakers and trucking groups are working to put the brakes on the controversial rule.
The Deregulating Restrictions on Interstate Vehicles and Eighteen-Wheelers (DRIVE) Act was reintroduced in the House by Rep. Josh Brecheen. If passed, the DRIVE Act would prohibit FMCSA from issuing any rule or regulation to require vehicles with a gross weight over 26,000 pounds to be equipped with a speed limiting device.
“Under the Biden Administration, we saw blatant overreach that would have required speed-limiters as low as 60 mph for heavy-duty trucks,” said Representative Brecheen (R-OK). “For example, if a rancher is transporting tractors across state lines, under this rule, the federal government would require a speed limiter device when above 26,000 lbs. I have spent years driving a semi hauling heavy equipment and years in different ranch vehicles hauling livestock and farm equipment. Safety is enhanced in keeping with the flow of traffic as set by state law, not on a one-size-fits-all regulation enforced by bureaucrats in Washington. The DRIVE Act will ensure a future administration cannot revive this dangerous rule.”
Brecheen previously introduced the DRIVE Act in May of 2023.
Groups supporting the DRIVE Act include:
- American Farm Bureau Federation
- Associated Equipment Distributors
- Mid-West Truckers Association
- National Association of Small Trucking Companies
- National Cattlemen’s Beef Association
- National Ready Mixed Concrete Association
- North American Punjabi Trucking Association
- Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA)
- Towing and Recovery Association of America, Inc
- United States Cattlemen’s Association
OOIDA in particular has long spoken out about the risks that speed limiters would pose for highway safety by creating speed differentials, and in January 2025, the group called on President Trump to take action to halt any federal speed limiter rulemaking.
“Nobody understands and appreciates road safety more than truck drivers,” said OOIDA President Todd Spencer. “We want to get to our destination as safely as possible just like everyone else on the road. A federal speed limiter mandate would force trucks to speeds below the flow of traffic, increasing interactions between vehicles and leading to more crashes. It would be like an obstacle course for passenger vehicle drivers on our highways. OOIDA and our 150,000 members in small business trucking across America thank Representative Brecheen for his leadership in working to keep our roadways safe for truckers and for all road users by fighting to prevent a speed limiter mandate.”
OOIDA’s video below provides an explainer on how speed limiters could make U.S. highways more dangerous.