🚛 DOT Wants to Curb Speeds — But Are Truckers the Only Ones Getting Slowed Down?

by TRUCKERS VA
(UNITED STATES)

🧠 Introduction: Speed Limiters for Trucks, Maybe Tech for Buses?

In a plot twist nobody asked for but everyone kinda expected, the Department of Transportation (DOT) is once again dragging speed limiters for big rigs back into the spotlight. Meanwhile, thanks to a few high-profile accidents, public pressure is mounting to outfit school buses and transit vehicles with safety technology.

Sounds fair, right?

Well, maybe not.

Because while speed limiters for truckers are being reconsidered (read: quietly prepped for enforcement), bus safety tech is still being “talked about.” And if you’re a trucker, this double standard should have you fired up like a Jake brake on a 9% grade.

Let’s unpack this latest wave of “safety solutions” and ask what’s really going on behind the wheel of policy.

⚙️ What the DOT Is Proposing (and Avoiding)

Here’s what’s on the table:

🛑 Heavy Truck Speed Limiters:
The DOT is re-evaluating proposals to mandate speed governors on all trucks over 26,000 lbs. The range? Somewhere between 60–68 mph, though they won’t say the magic number yet.

The plan was originally pushed back due to backlash from drivers and fleets. But now, with climate, congestion, and safety buzzwords flying around Washington, it’s back in motion.

🚍 Bus Safety Tech? Still Optional:
Calls are growing to equip school and public buses with:

Automatic emergency braking

Pedestrian detection systems

Speed alerts and telematics

Real-time monitoring

But here’s the thing — none of that is being mandated. It’s all “encouraged” for now. Cities and school boards can apply for funding… if they want to. No speed limiters. No mandatory cameras. Just a “wouldn’t it be nice” wishlist.

🛑 The Reality for Truckers: More Limits, Less Trust

Truckers already deal with:

ELDs that track their every move

Speed variances causing dangerous merges

Pay tied to miles, not hours

Increasing surveillance, decreasing trust

So when the government starts whispering “speed limiter” again, it doesn’t feel like safety. It feels like control.

“We’re the first to get regulated and the last to get listened to.”

That’s how a lot of drivers feel. And with good reason. Speed limiters might sound good in a boardroom, but out on I-10 with four-wheelers blowing past and lanes merging in a construction zone? It’s a different story.

🚍 Meanwhile, Buses Are Playing Catch-Up

To be clear: school buses and transit vehicles absolutely need modern safety systems. They’re hauling kids, grandparents, and folks with no other transportation option.

But let’s be real — they’ve been behind the curve for decades.

Some school buses still don’t even have seatbelts. Now we’re talking about tech upgrades while still letting them cruise ungoverned through neighborhoods?

The problem isn’t that buses are getting attention — it’s that truckers are getting all the enforcement while buses get all the benefit of the doubt.

📣 Industry Response: Split Down the Center Line

Carriers:
Many large fleets support speed limiters because it reduces fuel costs and lowers accident liability. But guess who already governs their trucks? They do. The rest of us? We’re the ones getting squeezed.

Independent Drivers:
Most are against it. Why? Because they know what happens when you cap speed in a system that’s built around pushing loads fast. It creates traffic jams, road rage, and makes the job even more stressful.

Public Transit and Schools:
They’re cautiously exploring safety tech — but they’re also worried about budget and backlash. They don’t want to be tracked. They don’t want to pay. Sound familiar?

🧠 The Bigger Picture: This Ain’t Just About Speed

If DOT was serious about safety across the board, they’d:

Mandate safety tech for all commercial vehicles, not just trucks

Address truck parking before limiting movement

Enforce fair pay standards to reduce driver fatigue

Re-evaluate the entire freight scheduling and detention system

But instead, they’re latching onto one easy-to-regulate variable: speed. Because it’s measurable. It’s enforceable. And it’s politically safe.

Too bad it ain’t the whole story.

🔍 Bottom Line: Equal Roads, Unequal Rules

This feels less like “public safety” and more like selective enforcement.

If speeding is unsafe, why aren’t buses governed?

If safety tech works, why isn’t it required for school vehicles?

Why do truckers get mandates, while everyone else gets suggestions?

Until the rules apply equally to all who share the road, drivers will keep seeing this as what it is: another policy designed by people who don’t drive.

💥 Call to Action

📣 Truckers, this isn’t just about your engine — it’s about your independence.

🛠️ Don’t let bureaucrats with zero CDL experience decide how fast you can go or how you do your job.

📢 Stay loud. Stay informed. Submit comments. Push back.

And while you’re at it…

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👉 Grab your free game plan at RetireFromTrucking.com
💡 It’s your roadmap out — before DOT draws the map for you.