Some more changes are ahead when it comes to sharing the highway and parking lots with drivers of big trucks.
The Trump administration said it is putting a stop to a 2016 Obama-era plan to set a de facto national speed limit as low as 60 mph for big rigs and buses traveling American highways.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy announced June 27 his department will deliver more than $275 million in grants to expand parking access for truck drivers nationwide, including $180 million for Florida.
“Truckers keep America running. While the country sleeps, truckers grind through the night to help keep shelves stocked, families fed, and businesses humming,” Duffy said.
“It’s a job that requires grit and dedication. But for too long Washington, D.C., has made work harder for truckers. That ends today.”
Plan to limit speed of heavy vehicles on Florida, US highways dropped
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and National Highway Transportation Safety Administration announced July 24 they were dropping an Obama-era plan which was intended to reduce the severity of crashes involving heavy vehicles.
Regulators said at the time limiting trucks and buses to no more than 65 mph would save between 63 and 214 lives annually, and save drivers more than $800 million in fuel and emissions costs.
An exact speed limit had not been decided, although officials had considered 60, 65 and 68 mph.
What the U.S. Department of Transportation said about the one-size-fits-all mandate:
Problem: Mandating speed limiters on heavy-duty trucks isn’t just an inconvenience, it is a safety hazard when drivers are forced to go slower than the flow of traffic.
Solution: USDOT is withdrawing the proposed rulemaking to mandate speed limiters so professional drivers can operate their vehicles safely.
Objections to limiting speed of tractor trailers
Federal regulators under President Donald Trump said the proposal to install speed-limiting devices on vehicles weighing more than 26,000 pounds would have raised trucking costs and might actually have made things worse by stalling traffic and putting more trucks on the road.
Regulators said the proposal might have also slowed deliveries, hurt already low driver pay and pushed more heavy truck traffic onto side streets instead of interstates.
“Mandating speed limiters on heavy-duty trucks isn’t just an inconvenience — it is a safety hazard when drivers are forced to go slower than the flow of traffic,” the U.S. Department of Transportation said in a news release.
How fast are big trucks allowed to go on Florida interstates?
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, trucks in Florida follow the same speed limits as other vehicles, 70 mph on rural interstates.
The Florida Legislature authorizes the Florida Department of Transportation to establish speed limits on state highways up to the following maximums:
65 mph on a four-lane divided highway outside an urban area (with a population of 5,000 or more)
60 mph on other state highways
Why are speed limits different in each state?
Federal legislation gives individual states the authority to establish their own maximum speed limits, according to the Florida Department of Transportation.
Maximum speed limits across the U.S. range from 80 mph to 60 mph, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety,
More big rig parking coming to Central Florida
Duffy announced July 27, the U.S. Department of Transportation will deliver more than $275 million in grant funding to expand parking access for truck drivers nationwide, “an investment which will enhance safety and improve quality of life for truckers.
“This includes $180 million for Florida to add 917 new truck parking spaces along the I-4 corridor in Volusia, Seminole, and Osceola counties.”
“Florida is one of the first states to create a robust pipeline of truck parking projects to address both immediate and future needs, and this grant from USDOT will help deliver nearly 1,000 additional truck parking spaces to serve Central Florida communities,” said Florida Department of Transportation Secretary Jared W. Perdue.
The U.S. Department of Transportation said “40% of truckers spend over an hour a day searching for parking — costing our national economy billions in wasted time. It’s also a safety issue — forcing truckers to park in harms way.”
Contributing: Trevor Hughes, USA Today
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Trump kills big rig speed limit plan for US, Florida