U.S. DOT ANNOUNCES HIGHWAY SPEED ENHANCEMENT DEAL WITH FORD MOTOR COMPANY

The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) and the Ford Motor Company (Ford) today announced a deal to relax speed restrictions on drivers of certain Ford-produced motor vehicles. Included in the package is an agreement to restrict speed allowances on vehicles produced by Ford competitors, including Dodge trucks.

The deal will allow Ford drivers to purchase premium highway speed plans with a portion of the payments being used by USDOT to defray the cost of highway maintenance. Drivers of non-Ford vehicles which interfere with Ford vehicles by driving too slow in the passing lane could be subject to citations and fines.

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(The arrangement is similar to broadband access plans being rolled-out by internet service providers in the wake of the FCC termination of net neutrality regulations)

”This is truly ground-breaking. It’s the first step in getting the government out of the business of traffic regulations which interfere with personal choice,” said the USDOT, ”while at the same time monetizing a valuable public asset.” Ford indicated that the program will allow eligible drivers to purchase varying degrees of speed relief, but the privilege would not be available to all Ford drivers - the Ford Focus is specifically excluded as ineligible, for example, while drivers of the Ford Mustang will have the option of purchasing “super-enhanced” speed relief to eliminate speed limits for Mustang drivers on any roadway which receives federal funds. Ford acknowledged that the fee will be "exorbitant" but noted that Mustang owners have long been willing to irrationally "part with cash for flash,"

“I think it sucks,” said a spokesman for the Dodge Truck Owner’s Association. All Dodge-produced 1500, 2500, and 3500 series “pick-up” trucks will be required to bear decals on the left-front and rear-right quarter-panels which clearly label the vehicle as “speed-restricted”. DOT indicated that this minor inconvenience to a relatively small number of highway consumers could add as much as $13.1 million to the federal highway maintenance fund, as well as removing the large cumbersome vehicles from passing lanes. “The vast majority of drivers will applaud this particular feature.”

Drivers can expect to see implementation of the enhanced system in time for the upcoming holiday travel season.

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