Newswise — Steven Johnson, industrial engineering professor at the University of Arkansas, is available to comment on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s recent proposal to enact federally mandated rules that would require trucks to activate speed limits.

In 2006, Johnson conducted a comprehensive study of speed limits and car-vs.-large-truck speed differentials on rural, interstate highways. He found different speed limits for cars and large trucks on rural, interstate highways compromise safety by causing greater speed variation and a higher number of vehicles passing each other. He is currently involved in research funded by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regarding the implementation of speed-limiting devices on commercial vehicles.

The NHTSA’s proposal suggests federally mandated rules that would require activation of so-called speed governors or limiters at a specific speed limit. Since the early 1990s, large trucks have included devices that control speed, Johnson said, and approximately 80 percent of all fleets control speed through such limiters, even though the companies are not required to do so.

Johnson’s study was published by the Mack-Blackwell Rural Transportation Center, a center for education and research in rural transportation at the University of Arkansas. The center is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation.

For more information about the study, visit http://newswire.uark.edu/article.aspx?id=11573. Or, a copy of the study can be obtained at Johnson’s faculty website, http://comp.uark.edu/~sjohnson/.

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