Industry Wire

New Stopping Distance Rule for Heavy Duty Trucks

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has issued a long-awaited final rule regarding the required stopping distance for heavy duty trucks. The rule will reduce the stopping distance from 355 feet to 250 feet while traveling at 60 miles per hour and loaded to the GVWR capacity. The ruling is a 30% reduction in stopping distance which will apply to 2012 and later truck models and will not require any retrofitting. It will apply to truck tractors only and does not apply to single-unit trucks, trailers or buses.

A compliance date of August 1, 2011 has been set for three-axle tractors with a GVWR of 59,600 pounds or less, and August 1, 2013 for two-axle tractors with a GVWR of more than 59,600 pounds. The reduction in stopping distance is not expected to require a significant change in brake manufacturing technology, according to the NHTSA and brake manufacturers.

In the final rule, NHTSA sites 227 deaths, 300 injuries, and $169 million in property damage that will be saved every year as a result of the reduction in required stopping distance. To see the full text of the final rule, click here.

TRALA’s Equipment and Technology Advisory Council (ETAC) has been discussing the anticipated rule and its potential maintenance impacts for several years. If you would like to learn more about the new stopping distance rule, or TRALA’s Equipment and Technology Advisory Council, please contact TRALA’s Joe Sculley at jsculley@trala.org or (703) 299-9120.