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The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has withdrawn a proposed rule that would have required speed limiting devices on heavy trucks.
In a Notice to be published in the Federal Register on July 24, 2025, FMCSA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) withdrew a 2016 Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to require that heavy-duty trucks be equipped with a speed limiter device that would have governed the truck at a speed determined by federal officials.
The rule withdrawal follows up on efforts made under the Trump Administration to deregulate trucking and to “improve the lives of America’s truck drivers.” In late June 2025, US Transportatiin Secretary Sean P. Duffy rolled out a “Pro-Trucker package of initiatives designed to support the trucking industry which included a promise to withdraw speed limiter rule making.
In explaining the decision to withdraw the speed limiter rule, FMCSA pointed to a 2022 advance notice of supplemental proposed rulemaking (ANSPRM) that indicated the agency’s intention to move forward with speed limiter rulemaking.
The ANSPRM also called for public comment on a plan “to require motor carriers to limit speeds for certain CMVs operated in interstate commerce that were already equipped with an electronic engine control unit (ECU) capable of setting speed limits. The maximum speed of affected CMVs was to be determined by the rulemaking, and motor carriers would have been required to maintain that maximum limit in the ECU for the service life of the vehicle.”
Of the 15,638 comments received, approximately 300 supported moving ahead with speed limiter rulemaking, while over 15,000 comments opposed the speed limiter rule.
“Several commenters, including the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA), indicated that limiting a truck’s speed would have adverse impacts on driver’s’ incomes, because reducing travel speeds would reduce the number of miles traveled as well as the number of pick-ups and deliveries. Other commenter issues included higher fuel costs, impacts to driver well-being and ease of parking due to additional hours a driver might have to spend driving to complete a job,” FMCSA said.
Officials ultimately concluded that there was no compelling data showing that the speed limiter rule would have increased highway safety:
“NHTSA and FMCSA have determined that the 2016 NPRM lacks a sufficiently clear and compelling safety justification for its implementation and raises significant concerns regarding federalism. NHTSA and FMCSA’s research and analyses contained significant data gaps regarding potential safety benefits and economic impacts, and information obtained through the public comment process did not provide the information necessary to proceed to a final rule. NHTSA and FMCSA therefore withdraw the September 7, 2016 NPRM. For the same reasons, FMCSA also withdraws the May 4, 2022 ANSPRM.“
Trucking groups including the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) cheered the move to withdraw the rule.
“The old ways of doing things in Washington are over. After nearly 20 years, big trucking’s proposed speed limiter mandate is dead. This failed proposal represented the worst of Washington and the worst of trucking: big corporations trying to use big government to undercut small businesses and increase corporate profits. Not only would this proposal have harmed working class Americans – small business truckers in our communities – it would have made our highways less safe for all motorists. We thank Secretary Duffy and the Trump Administration for listening to truckers by prioritizing safety, small businesses, and common sense,” said Lewie Pugh, Executive Vice President of OOIDA.