Safety Benefits of Speed Limiters in Commercial Motor Vehicles Using Carrier-Collected Crash Data

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to identify the safety impacts of speed limiters in commercial truck fleets. The primary safety analysis was a focus on the reduction in truck crashes that could have been avoided or mitigated with an active speed limiter installed on the truck. This was the first study to use actual truck crash data collected directly from commercial truck fleets, representing a wide array of crashes. The study included data from 20 commercial truck fleets, including approximately 138,000 truck-years and more than 15,000 truck crashes, as they operated under real-world, revenue-producing deliveries. The findings showed strong positive benefits for speed limiters. Results indicated that trucks equipped without speed limiters had a significantly higher speed limiter-relevant crash rate (approximately 200%) compared to trucks with speed limiters. The cost of the technology is negligible and would not be expected to be cost-prohibitive for commercial truck fleets/owners. The current study went further than any prior research conducted in this domain and provides important data on the efficacy of speed limiters in reducing speed limiter-relevant crashes.