USDOT dropped the speed-limiter mandate for heavy trucks, but our trucks still run under a company speed policy

What the announcement actually said

Withdrawing a proposal is a matter of paperwork. A truck on I-94 still carries a governor, still faces a posted state limit and still falls under a carrier policy that an underwriter has already priced in. That is what this page covers, not the rest-area grants, even though both items appeared in the same June 27, 2025 announcement.

USDOT announced that it is dropping the proposed speed-limiter mandate for heavy vehicles, reasoning that a hard cap set below the speed of traffic creates a hazard. Because the limiter item sits among parking money and HOS-pilot language, it is easy to read it as a free pass. It is not one.

When an NPRM never becomes a final rule, that federal requirement simply stops moving forward in its proposed form. Posted limits on state highways remain. An ELD speeding event is still an ELD speeding event, and so is a fleet's own setting.

The parking grants in the same package concern the 14-hour window and lot capacity. This article is about equipment and policy. If a broker forwards the announcement and asks whether we can "run open," the answer is our company speed policy, not the newsroom headline.

A withdrawn proposal is not a permission. It means no new federal cap in that form, while company, state and insurance limits stay where they are.

What changes for us on Monday

Brokers sometimes ask whether we can now go 85, and the answer is no. The company speed is set by the fleet and by insurance. A dead federal proposal does not touch it, and neither does a rate confirmation.

Every quote we give still assumes that speed, those miles and an ELD that records exactly what the truck did. If a customer wants a transit time faster than the limit and HOS permit, we pass. We will not promise an unrealistic ETA and then argue with the governor.

Owner-operators leasing on get the same talk during onboarding. The setting on the truck must match our records, not a social-media post claiming that the mandate died and the truck is now open. Read the owner-operator terms and the Dry Van seat page before you assume the cab has no limit.

If you have freight, send the origin, the destination and whether it is drop or live. The withdrawal of the limiter does not alter how we price a dry van out of Chicago. Price the load or call the desk.

What we do and what we do not

We do not offer "no limiter" as a service. What we do offer is on-time dry van out of Rolling Meadows, at a company speed we can defend when an insurance auditor asks. We explain that speed before anyone is hired.

A withdrawn NPRM gives us no reason to relax ELD coaching, and no basis for debating a state trooper over what federal law once nearly required. State law and our own policy still apply on Monday.

For questions about a truck in service, call +1 (224) 877-0350. If you want a seat with us, ask about the speed policy up front, because we would rather you hear it now than argue about it at orientation.