Originally Posted by
Leisesturm
Apparently that's already the situation with the big rigs. I'm sure you've been behind one big rig overtaking another at speed right? There's a woman sitting in jail right now because she forced an unsafe pass, killing another driver going "the limit". It was deemed 'road rage'. We already have a big problem with road rage. I don't drive. I absolutely have no dog in this hunt. Y'all's go ahead and make the roads 'safer' with millions (yes, millions) of frustrated drivers limited to some arbitrary limit. Whee doggie, when the fur starts flying, it will truly be something to see.
Yes, all diesel engines are governed, always have been. BUT with the introduction of electronically controlled engines came the ability to set a top speed without affecting power ouput (early 90s in OTR tractors). So, the owner of the tractor sets a top speed which they believe will make it less likely their trucks will speed and get tickets( very low profit margins in trucking) hence 62, 65, 68 mph trucks. The notion that top speed can be set very accurately is proven by these things as on flat land they are dead on accurate. And they are NOT random speeds , 62 is used in a vehicle that may be expected to travel in Canada, as that is 100kph, 68 is for the USA exclusively and makes it difficult to get a ticket in a 70 zone; yes downhill it will go faster...
The police are far more likely to ticket a speeding truck than a car. The Department of Transportation keeps track of violations and will revoke a companies authority if they get too many violations. NONE of tbis is why over 80% of car-truck crashes are the car driver's fault, the biggest reason class A, cdl holders, HG vehicles whatever are so much safer than standard 'operator' license holders is because they are held accountable.