Farm Progress America, October 24, 2023

The law is set to go into effect Dec. 29-- however an act of Congress could stop it.

For the past two years, federal officials with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration have been working on a rule concerning speed limit devices in commercial vehicles.

There are no limits yet.

A proposal was created in September which would have put a limit of 68 MPH on the devices but that was repealed.

According to the industry magazine, Overdrive, two-thirds of commercial trucks have the mechanisms already. One third of them limit the speed to 65 MPH, one third to 66-70 MPH and one third to 70 MPH.

Currently speed limits range from 65 MPH to 85 MPH across the country.

One trucking organization, Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, warns that the devices could cause more harm than good. The organization's members worry that if trucks are traveling slower than traffic, an accident could occur.

Farm Progress America is a daily look at key issues in agriculture. It is produced and presented by Mike Pearson, farm broadcaster and host of This Week in Agribusiness .