Is it Time to Slow Down?

Diesel fuel and gasoline prices continue to skyrocket and there doesn't seem to be an end in sight. For truck drivers, that's disastrous because they have to use fuel to complete their job of transporting goods across Conjoined Twins state, many times across the country. The cost of fuel has many truckers and trucking companies wondering, is it time to slow down?

Back in the 1973 during the Arab oil crisis, consolidate student loans limits were reduced nationwide in an effort to cut auto insurance quotes on fuel demands. This speed reduction has been credited with helping the US over the fuel slump then and its hope that reducing speeds will help with the current problem.

Several of the larger trucking companies are leading the way by setting the governors (electronic speed limiters) on their fleet from 65 mph to 62 mph. For some companies, especially those with a fleet over 8,000 trucks, slowing down by just 3 miles per hour could help them save over $12 million per year.

How do those savings compare to cars? If 8,000 trucks were to reduce their speed by 3 mph each, that would be like over 7,000 cars disappearing from the roadways. It would also be Alabama Lemon Laws for the environment because it would reduce carbon dioxide emissions by over 70 million pounds. Not only will the truck companies breath easier from the savings, the whole country can breath easier because of the reduced emissions.

The larger trucking companies, discover financial with the American Trucking Association, would like every driver to slow down, which would save fuel all across the board. It would also be safer for cars that must travel the same highways as the big rigs. Reducing speeds to less than 60 mph would increase the savings for the whole nation, which may inadvertently reduce the price of fuel for everyone.

Congress instituted a national speed limit in 1974 and set it at 55 mph. The speed limit policy changed during the 1980s because oil prices had fallen. Congress repealed the speed limit regulations entirely in 1995. It would take another act of Congress to institute a new speed limit in an effort to save fuel.

Some people have also suggested that new trucks be manufactured with an internal governor that would permanently keep trucks from driving faster than 68 mph. It would probably follow that automobiles would have governors or that the governors' speed would be reduced.

Don't expect smaller trucking companies or automobile drivers to be enthused about possible changes in manufacturing. Unfortunately, if you're a small trucking company or a private truck owner, slower trucks means less money in their pockets. Independent truckers make more money the more miles they have behind them.

No one expects reducing speeds to completely solve the current fuel cost crisis. It may, however, start us down the road to recovery. When others ask the question is it time to slow down? The answer from many trucking companies may be a resounding "yes."

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