DOT strategic plan should value truck drivers, OOIDA says

December 21, 2021

Mark Schremmer

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Truck drivers have continuously stepped up to keep America running during a pandemic. Now, it’s the U.S. Department of Transportation’s turn to take steps toward making trucking a rewarding long-term career.

That is the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association’s message to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in official comments filed on Dec. 17. OOIDA’s comments were in response to the DOT’s request for feedback on its strategic plan for 2022-2026.

“Throughout the pandemic, truckers have proved to the nation that they are willing to meet any challenge,” OOIDA wrote. “Professional drivers have literally put their lives on the line every day to keep us safe. The perseverance of the country’s truck drivers has never faltered in the face of many difficult obstacles, but that should not entitle the federal government to continue implementing impractical regulations that make trucking an even more inequitable profession.”

As part of the Department of Transportation’s strategic plan, OOIDA says it should reduce regulatory burdens on truckers and dedicate funding to highways, roads, bridges and truck parking.

“We encourage you to remove excessive regulatory burdens and look for less intrusive alternatives that can benefit highway safety,” OOIDA wrote. “Additionally, the recently enacted bipartisan infrastructure law will provide generational investment across various modes of transportation. We recommend DOT allocate these funds in a way to improve the state of the nation’s highways, roads and bridges, along with directing dollars toward projects that have been traditionally overlooked such as expanding truck parking capacity. Finally, the department must help ensure that trucking can be a rewarding and meaningful career.

“If this can be done, we believe DOT’s efforts will help drive economic growth across the country, creating new opportunities and better job security for millions of hard-working Americans.”

As part of the letter, OOIDA responded to five questions from the Department of Transportation.

1. What strategies or priorities should the U.S. DOT adopt to achieve the department’s strategic goals and objectives?

While OOIDA agrees safety should be the U.S. DOT’s priority, the Association said that more regulations do not necessarily lead to an improvement in safety. OOIDA used the electronic logging mandate as an example. Since the costly regulation was put into effect, truck-related fatal crashes have continued to increase.

“We believe DOT should address burdensome one-size-fits-all trucking regulations that unnecessarily punish small businesses,” OOIDA wrote. “Many of these policies are based solely on improving compliance with regulations rather than actual safety performance. For instance, small businesses have been forced to bear the majority of the $1.8 billion price tag associated with the FMCSA’s ELD mandate.

“While FMCSA has touted improved hours-of-service compliance, we have not seen any data suggesting that ELDs actually reduce crashes. As a result of this compliance-focused approach, fatalities and crash rates have been going in the wrong direction for more than a decade.”

OOIDA said it challenges the administration to find less intrusive alternatives that actually enhance highway safety and reduce crashes.

2. How should the U.S. DOT measure progress toward those priorities?

OOIDA said that the department, including FMCSA, should regularly review its regulations to determine if they have actually done anything to improve safety.

“Regulatory reviews should be done in an objective manner that analyzes crash data and/or other information that has a proven statistical relationship with crash risk,” OOIDA wrote.

The Association also said that U.S. DOT should communicate with truck drivers to find out what is working and what isn’t.

3. What emerging challenges or opportunities in transportation warrant additional U.S. DOT activities or investments?

The truck parking crisis requires investment from the U.S. DOT, OOIDA said.

In fact, OOIDA already sent a letter to Buttigieg in November asking for $1 billion in discretionary funding to be dedicated to the construction of truck parking. OOIDA said that the lack of truck parking is a safety issue as well as a contributor to the high driver turnover numbers in the industry.

OOIDA said the profession of truck driver needs to be made through better working conditions and increased compensation.

“We support the administration’s efforts to improve the quality of trucking jobs, but this must start with treating drivers as essential workers, which means valuing and compensating them for all of their time.”

4. How can U.S. DOT best coordinate its activities with federal, state, local, tribal, labor, private sector, academic, nonprofit, international and other stakeholders?

“We have often experienced a lack of communication among the bureaucracy that works against professional truckers,” OOIDA wrote. “DOT must work to develop a more communicative environment among the numerous entities that dictate federal trucking rules.”

OOIDA also said that the U.S. DOT should engage local officials and the public about the urgency of the truck parking issue.

5. How can U.S. DOT best utilize additional programs and authorities in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to accomplish the goals laid out in the strategic plan?

OOIDA said that federal spending approved in the infrastructure bill must be done in a responsible, transparent and beneficial manner.

The Association also hopes that DOT will quickly begin working on several trucking provisions included in the legislation that will be helpful in attracting and retaining drivers.

Those provisions include:

  • Promoting women in the trucking workforce.
  • Establishment of a truck leasing task force.
  • Conducting a driver compensation study.
  • A review of ELD oversight to ensure that proprietary and personally identifiable information is protected.

“DOT has spoken about the need to make trucking a more viable and sustainable career for those entering the industry and the millions of Americans making their living behind the wheel,” OOIDA wrote.

“These objectives can be accomplished through a more practical, less burdensome regulatory approach along with acknowledging professional drivers as essential workers, which means valuing and compensating them for all of their time.” LL