Truckers Back a National 65-mph Speed Limit

My husband drives a truck. His truck was turned back last week. He's been out in Texas for two days. HE had to sleep in his truck one night.His truck will only idle for 30 minutes. That means only 30 minutes of Air condition. This is not fair to anyone.If trucks are getting late to delivery, it isn"t the drivers fault".Thank You for hearing me out. Ruthann Coyle Bardstown KY

RuthAnn coyle of KY @ Jul 20, 2008 19:25:24 PM

Can Play An Allegro At Adagio - But Not By Force

A national speed limit means this trucker is done driving trucks. Struggling to stay awake because I'm not doing anything (like driving) at, say, 65 MPH is not how I want to spend my life. Driving a slow truck is like sitting in a prison cell. I won't work at any job on which time doesn't fly. At 65 MPH I look at the clock expecting to see 4 PM and see noon instead. That's unacceptable. A slow truck grinds enjoyment into longsuffering. I'm not the least interested in that and won't, can't, exist that way. I suppose I could jerk off to magazines for something to do while nodding off and on down the Interstate. But that would be double-whammy dangerous. Nor have I the least interest in adding an hour or two to my work days (for the same pay) and/or earning perhaps between $160 to $200 less per week due to being frustrated in, and prevented from, doing my job. I won't do carpentry with a plastic hammer and I won't drive a truck that isn't allowed to be a truck, such as one that can't get up the hill, pass safely on two-lane highways and makes motorists angry when taking too long to pass on an Interstate. Another thing I notice about slow trucks: not a few whose daily agony is to have to drive one tend to drive more selfishly because they must, and often drive faster down urban streets or through truck stops because they can. They subconsciously balance out the energy: they can finally GO, after being STOPPED from going hour upon trapped hour. In contrast, I can afford to drive more politely, don't need to cut motorists off as much, and turtle my way through truck stops. Going as fast as I want down the big road removes those kinds of pressure. A secretary who types 70 WPM with perfect accuracy isn't going to last long on a job where she's asininely constrained to type 40 WPM. As for safety on the road, get off of it, because you've accomplished your destination - instead of still holding your arm out the window in icy wind to prevent hallucinating.

Larry Tipton of CO @ Jul 20, 2008 19:05:58 PM

One Little Detail You All Forgot About....

In order for the Federal government to get back into the speed-limit business again, they will FIRST have to draft, ratify and try to get the states to amend the US Constitution to repeal states' rights. I doubt the states will go for that.

Some of you might remember, but back in 1984, a person challenged the constituionality of the (then) 55 mph national speed limit as a violation of state's rights....and won. The main reason that President Clinton signed the repeal of the national speed limit in 1995 was, quoting him, "restoring states' rights".

So, any kind of national speed limit would be, at a minimum,. 3-4 years away.

Kevin w. of AZ @ Jul 01, 2008 12:45:20 PM

At highs peeds blah blah blah, just put on a wind breaker or wing!

Wow, smart.

DonnyBoy of NY @ Jun 17, 2008 17:45:24 PM

People who want fuel governors on trucks, put them on your cars too!

I see more idiot four wheelers( that's cars to you oil addict worrier) speeding and being morons while driving than I ever did a JB Hunt driver or a Swift driver. Some of them teamster drivers ( yellow, roadway, ABF) have very good drivers most of them, and the fact they are so used to going slow, I fear they could never operate a faster truck if they had the chance when things change, it just hurts the industry and a skillful trade in the long run , and allows elephant races with giant vehicles on the highway, making it more unsafe. It would be like you having a governor on your car and your late for work, if you could pass a slow moving farm vehicle with the speed you'd punch in on time, but you cant, so you mope along and get road hypnotized, next thing you know you're eating chrome bumper and windshield crumbs!

Sure it;s easy to say leave earlier, true, but how many people do you know are perfect and leaving ont ime every single trip?

You must have alot of time and no lives. GET REAL!!

The people against free speed are the ones who speed the most. Remember that.

It saddens me that alot of the fellows in office jobs now who were once truck drivers and had non governed trucks are not preaching and bragging boosting speed limiters because they are getting paid and feeding their greedy chunk faces on company funds. Shame on you "company men", go play some more golf, your so full of buffalo chips! LOL!

A company small or medium should disregard a safety director or safety office person at all costs! I was hired by a few I won't mention any names and they were just there to get paid and fill a position to increase a number of employees for state benefits and to be kiss butts at the place. Also, you waste more fuel and decrease the life of an engine by dumping governed fuel rather than letting the driver manage his own speed with the pedal. Uphills and grades are a prime example of wasted fuel by speed governors. Good day brainiacs.

BTW I am a ten year experienced driver with a Bass Pro Shops hat and a co. driver with a Ken Worth. this industry is cut-throat and you need to suport your family and stay afer for them.

Fastertruck.com is the way to go!

Thanks.

DonnyBoy of NY @ Jun 17, 2008 17:41:40 PM

Catch up

For our company, back in 2005 when fuel was nearly half of what it is today, every tenth of a mpg saved was approximately equal to saving $100,000 per year. Yeah, that doesn't sound like much to you hot shots on here. By governing our fleet of 125 trucks to 65mph from 67mph we've already seen nearly a half mpg increase in efficiency. A fifth grade math student could tell you how it work kids. So you go ahead and throw your "state's rights" crap out there. Next time you're driving down the highway in your car or truck, try letting of the accelerator for a bit, set your cruise at 62 instead of 65 and I can almost guarantee you'll see about 2 mpg change. I drive a 2004 Dodge Ram with a Hemi engine in it at 60 mph and I get nearly 22 mpg, meanwhile my friend who drives the same truck with a smaller engine get 16 if he's lucky. Find the correlation there, it shouldn't be too hard for you.

We all need to find a smarter way to drive, if it's driving slower, getting a more fuel efficient vehicle or car pooling. This problem isn't going to go away on it's own, and I for one don't want to wait for Captiol Hill to come up with some 10 year plan, we need to do something starting today and every person who drives is responsible.

Chad Hewitt of ME @ Jun 08, 2008 14:16:47 PM

I love conservative driving.

I'm with Dave (GA). I've found that conservative driving really saves a lot of fuel. I drove on a trip a while back in a Honda Civic with another guy who was a real lead-foot. The tank was filled before we left; he drove 315 miles and we filled up. I was shocked to see that it took 12 gallons. Man! What a gas hog these stupid little Honda's are. So much for all the hype!

Then I drove. I not only drive quite slowly (55 to 60), but allow plenty of time to slow down so I don't have to use much braking and try not to accelerate too quickly (the secret is diligence and planning which seems foreign to many drivers). After driving about 315 miles again we fueled up again and this time it took only 8 gallons.

Are you kidding! That works out to about a 30% fuel savings. That's incredible!

So with that in mind... All you guys who want to run free with the wind and get (where?!!) there in a hurry. You'd also better get on your knees, 'cause here comes your pals from the mid-east to buy up all your toys and property. You will surely be their slave. Don.

Don of NY @ May 20, 2008 07:56:52 AM

62 mph = Lower Wages

We have reduced our idle time to practically nothing for the past 2 since our company reduced governer to 62 mph. Monitoring our fuel usage shows that the truck is working harder and using even more fuel than ever!

The only thing that the companies are saving is payroll. Drivers are limited to the number of miles-per-hour they can drive which limits the cents-per-mile we can earn. This adds up to an average of 5% cut in pay that ONLY affects the drivers of the company. In some cases, a driver will blindly lose $3000 income by being a loyal company driver. Monitor your fuel usage, and do the math... You will find that this is true.

So, companies are spending marginally more money in fuel costs (a tax write-off?) in order to score major savings in payroll at the driver's expense.

Ann Nonimouse of @ May 09, 2008 18:17:34 PM