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The American Trucking Associations is urging the Bush Administration to act quickly to ensure that strategies are in place to ensure an affordable supply of oil for the nation’s 3.5 million truck drivers and American consumers.

The trucking industry is experiencing the highest prolonged fuel prices in history. Historically, fuel represented the second-highest operating expense for motor carriers. For some motor carriers, however, fuel is beginning to surpass labor as their largest expense. This ultimately will increase the cost of everything delivered by truck.

ONE of their KEY answers is:  Set a national maximum speed limit of 65 mph.

Haven't we been here before? How about not ideling trucks for hours on end or how about trucking to the nearest rail terminal and letting our rails cover the long haul?

I agree with many things they would like revolving around fuel exploration, but folks we gotta get to our Congressmen to kill this speed limit idea before it starts.

See the ATA press release: http://www.truckline.com/NR/exeres/3AEF2137-09F9-4830-9719-51240264A28D.htm  

Well, the national speed limit in the 70's was designed for everyone, not just trucks.  If you look at some speed limit signs, there are seperate speed limits for trucks and cars.  That would be a better solution.  Make the national truck speed limit seperate from cars.  There could be a problem in the more isolated areas where the interstate is 2 lanes in each direction which could contribute to slower traffic in both lanes if cars passing trucks are not going much faster than the trucks.  There would also have to be stricter speed enforcement from either the trucking company or law enforcement.  The wider use of GPS would help with that.  It could be easily verifiable and difficult for the layman to tinker with.
Truck stops are beginning to equip themselves with utility hookups that would allow a truck to be shut down during idle time.  But there are only a few throughout the whole country right now.
From what I understand, the freight rails are pretty much at capacity, so just throwing stuff on a train wouldn't work right now.  I would go along with a vast expansion of both freight and passenger rail which is far more fuel effecient than OTR trucking and passenger driving and even flying.  

It's too bad people didn't think to ship more goods on trains in the past. The train system here isn't very robust and building a new system would be very expensive and couldn't be done overnight.

As a diesel truck owner, I can say that rpm has a huge effect on fuel consumption with diesel engines. I get about 17.5 mpg at 60 mph (2150 rpm) and less than 15 mpg at 70 mph (2400 rpm, if I remember). Slowing down those big diesels would help a lot. Plus then I wouldn't have loaded semis flying past me at 85 mph in the snow.  

No one makes truck drivers drive so fast.  

I think the best easy solution is simply make passing laws for trucks to prohibit using the left most lane  for passing.   Rather than trying to pass each other going uphill at .5mph differences, they would simply be forced to follow each other unless there's a third lane.   It would also massively help out car traffic!   Traveling across country that last couple of times was intensely aggravating because of trucks passing each other at ridiculously low speed differentials.    Why would you just draft off each other?   Nothing against truckers, but hogging the left hand lane to go .5mph faster than another trucker is just plain rude.  

This is such bull. My truck gets the same mpg whether I do 60, 65 or 70 and I actually do much better at 75. The industry already sets its own speed limit - most companies govern there trucks at 65 or 68 now for insurance reasons.

How many of you would allow the government to set the top speed of your car? After all why should a corvette be allowed to do 170 when no where in this country can you legally do that? Since 72% of all accidents involving a truck were caused by the CAR, shouldn't that be a priority?

KEEP BIG BROTHER OUT OF YOUR LIFE!

Also JohnAshman I agree to a point. Trucks trying to pass at a .5 mph difference drive me crazy, but you 4 wheelers do some dumb things to! There isn't enough room here to list all my complaints! Rather than prohibit us from the left lane, we should be in the left lane! Out of the way of idiots using the interstate to go to and from work, up one or two exits!

Let me mention just one thing, a lot of towns have laws restricting trucks to the two right lanes. Would you idiots please move out of the left-right lane and stop holding up the only two lanes we're allowed to use! Maybe then we wouldn't need to be in the left lane!!!  

If they can put electronic limiters at 155mph or 130mph or 107mph, why not just put them all at 65mph and motivate enthusiasts to invest in more tracks and save lives at the same time? Just imagine how much would be saved on law enforcement toys so we could have better roads.