Red light, green light

With the current surface reauthorization set to expire in September, the next highway bill will take shape over the next several months.

While no highway bill has been released yet, now is a great time to let lawmakers know what measures should go into the legislation and which measures should stay out. Rest assured that lobbyists from inside and outside of the trucking industry are determined to tack on measures that will benefit the interests of their particular group and its members. Some of those measures, such as dedicated funding for truck parking, are created with professional truckers in mind. Others, such as a call to increase the minimum insurance requirement for motor carriers, could have devastating effects on small-business truckers.

OOIDA’s staff in Washington, D.C., is balancing its efforts between playing offense for pro-trucker legislation and defense against measures that could negatively affect safety and make it more difficult for small-business truckers to make a living.

“Our team in Washington is working hard to ensure Congress produces the best possible highway bill for truckers,” said Collin Long, OOIDA’s director of government affairs. “That’s no simple task, as every stakeholder in our industry – from corporate motor carriers to safety advocacy groups – are also trying to have their top priorities included.

“Sometimes, we can work together on shared goals, like increasing federal investment in truck parking, but much of our efforts focus on keeping out costly, burdensome and unproven mandates. This year, we’ll be fighting against an increase to minimum liability insurance, a speed limiter mandate, a truck-only (vehicle miles traveled) system, expanded tolling, a side underride guard mandate and more.”

There are dozens of potential measures that could make their way into the next highway bill. Here’s a rundown of several of them and whether OOIDA will be giving a green light to try to get the measure in or a red light to keep it out.

And, remember, OOIDA’s voice is greatly strengthened when its members reach out to their lawmakers and echo the push for pro-trucker legislation.

Green light: Truck parking funding

The lack of truck parking reached crisis level quite a while ago. And while the crisis has worsened, the government has been busy conducting studies that revealed there is a lack of truck parking.

OOIDA believes now is the time that something can actually be done to alleviate the truck parking problem. In March, Rep. Mike Bost, R-Ill., reintroduced the Truck Parking Safety Improvement Act. The OOIDA-led legislation would allocate $755 million over five years to expand truck parking capacity.

The Association believes it is commonsense legislation that will help truckers and improve safety on the highway.

“If truckers are unable to find a safe and legal space, they are too often forced to either park in a hazardous location, such as a highway shoulder or vacant lot, or continue driving while they are possibly fatigued or in violation of safety regulations,” OOIDA President Todd Spencer wrote to a Senate committee in March. “Not only do these no-win situations risk the safety of professional drivers, they also create dangers for motoring public.”

The measure is drawing support from both sides of the aisle.

HR2187 was introduced with three Republican and three Democratic sponsors. More information about the bill can be found on Page 42.

The truck parking issue was also brought to light during a Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation hearing. As part of his testimony, Atlanta Regional Commission Executive Director Douglas Hooker highlighted the problems in his area and pushed for funding on a federal level.

“A national program is needed that focuses on interstate commerce corridors and addresses the unmet needs for safe and accessible truck parking,” Hooker wrote.

Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., cited Hooker’s testimony and noted that the lack of truck parking isn’t only an inconvenience but also a safety issue for the nation’s truck drivers.

In February, Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., and chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, provided additional reason to be optimistic that federal funding for truck parking could be a part of the next highway bill.

“I had a long talk with Todd Spencer of OOIDA,” DeFazio said during a House markup hearing on Feb. 10. “We delved into many issues, but one of the most prominent issues was truck parking. I promised him that we would meaningfully address that issue.”

Red light: Minimum insurance increase

Blocking an increase in motor carriers’ minimum insurance requirement will likely be truckers’ biggest fight of this congressional session.

After last year’s highway bill, HR2, was released, Rep. Chuy Garcia, D-Ill., proposed an amendment that called for the minimum insurance requirement on motor carriers to be increased from $750,000 to $2 million.

OOIDA immediately called the amendment a “poison pill” and withdrew its support from the highway bill.

The House voted in favor of the amendment, but the bill eventually stalled in the Republican-controlled Senate.

With the Democrats now controlling both chambers of Congress, it is likely another minimum insurance increase proposal could sneak into a larger transportation package.

Getting ahead of the fight, OOIDA formed a coalition with more than 60 organizations to oppose the increase. In addition, OOIDA Executive Vice President Lewie Pugh testified before a House committee in February that such an increase could increase the premium of a trucker who currently pays $10,000 per year to $20,000.

OOIDA also explains that there is no evidence that increasing the minimum insurance would benefit safety. Instead, OOIDA says, the bill would push some of the industry’s safest drivers off the road.

Long said OOIDA needs every member’s help to prevent an increase from happening.

“We know this battle is winnable, but we can’t do it without a groundswell of support from truckers,” he said. “If you’re not picking up the phone and calling your member of Congress to demand they oppose any increase, you’re handicapping our efforts. I’m not blowing smoke when I say it’s going to take every trucker with a stake in the game to stop this from happening. Get on the phone today.”

Green light: Detention time compensation

Results of an OOIDA Foundation survey found that 31% to 36% of OOIDA members spend 11 to 20 hours per week in detention. In addition, 31% said they lose three or four loads per month because of detention.

Over a year, this could cost a truck driver as much as $76,800. Trucking as a whole could lose as much as $3 billion per year.

OOIDA has encouraged the establishment of reasonable detention time standards, including a definition of what constitutes “detention time.”

The Association says that any standards must reflect the nature of the trucking industry and make distinctions among the operational costs of employee drivers, leased owner-operators, and owner-operators with their own authority.

Red light: ‘Inadequate and unfair’ funding measures

Some sort of infrastructure package is coming. The American Society of Civil Engineers recently gave the nation’s infrastructure a grade of C-minus. The nation’s bridges received a C, and roads earned the grade of a D.

According to the report, more than 40% of the nation’s road system is in poor or mediocre condition.

OOIDA is all for efforts to improve the nation’s infrastructure. However, the Association will fight any funding tactics that unfairly burden truckers.

A truck-only vehicle-miles-traveled tax may be the most egregious funding idea floated around. OOIDA notes that the trucking industry already pays more than its fair share and that truckers are on the hook for supplemental taxes that other highway users do not pay.

OOIDA also opposes any federal expansion of tolling policies.

“Research has shown that tolling is an extremely wasteful method of funding compared to fuel taxes,” Spencer told a Senate committee in March. “Additionally, toll roads consistently fail to meet revenue projections, creating unanticipated funding shortfalls, inevitable rate increases, and traffic diversion to nontolled routes.”

OOIDA said professional drivers continue to favor the current user fee structure and prefer reasonable increases to the federal gas and diesel taxes.

“These user fees are the most equitable and efficient means for supporting our nation’s highway needs.”

Green light: Repeal of overtime exemption

OOIDA wants the truck driver overtime exemption in the Fair Labor Standards Act to be repealed so that drivers are paid for all of their time spent on duty, including detention time.

“For far too long, drivers have had to give their time away for nothing,” Pugh said during an episode of “Live From Exit 24” in January. “That’s one of the biggest problems in the industry … but that’s become the norm.”

OOIDA has also encouraged lawmakers to reinstate the per diem for employee drivers.

A July 2019 article of Land Line reported instances where OOIDA members said losing the per diem made their taxes go from a refund of about $1,000 to having to pay in several thousand dollars.

Red light: Speed limiters

The idea of mandated speed limiters on commercial motor vehicles never seems to go away.

The most recent push comes from the American Trucking Associations and Road Safe America. And if you’re wondering, “Didn’t ATA used to oppose speed limiters?” you are correct. ATA has gone back and forth on its position over the years, previously opposing a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration proposal in 2016.

OOIDA’s position has not changed. The Association remains committed to the science that shows speed differentials lead to more crashes.

Some of the speed limiter proposals suggest limiting trucks to as slow as 60 mph. When you consider that speed limits across the United States are as fast as 80 mph, the speed differentials between cars and commercial motor vehicles traveling on the same road could be drastic.

Green light: Broker transparency

OOIDA wants existing federal transparency regulations for brokers to be enforced.

The Association petitioned FMCSA to restrict brokers from evading transparency regulations by requiring them to electronically transmit transaction records to motor carriers within 48 hours. OOIDA also asked FMCSA to prohibit brokers from including provisions in their contracts that require a motor carrier to waive its rights to access the transaction records.

Red light: Side underride guard mandate

The Stop Underrides Act was reintroduced in March. The legislation would require underride guards on the sides and front of all new tractor-trailers.

OOIDA calls the measure costly and impractical. The Association has helped fight off previous attempts at passing the legislation proposed by Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and Marco Rubio, R-Fla.

“The mandates you’re promoting may actually increase the number of crashes on American highways while simultaneously worsening their severity,” Spencer wrote to Gillibrand and Rubio in 2018. “Your legislation also creates serious economic hardships and operational challenges for small trucking businesses, which comprise 96% of U.S. motor carriers.”

Red light: Under-21 drivers

Strangely dubbed the DRIVE-Safe Act, the bill would lower the minimum interstate commercial motor vehicle driving age from 21 to 18.

OOIDA points out the “obvious safety concerns” while also disputing the impetus for the legislation, which is based on the idea that there is a truck driver shortage.

The Association has long disputed those assertions, pointing to large fleets’ driver turnover rates that often exceed 90%.

OOIDA says there are plenty of truck drivers, but big fleets have difficulty retaining them because of low pay and poor working conditions. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics backed up OOIDA’s claims with a report in 2019 that said the evidence does not support a labor shortage.

The agency also offered a pretty simple solution on how to alleviate any issues with recruitment and retention.

Increase wages, the report suggested.

OOIDA wants to prevent under-21 drivers from becoming a new pool of underpaid drivers rather than big fleets coughing up the dough for experienced and safe drivers.

“Experience tells us many of the entities pushing for the change in the current age requirement would simply use it to take advantage of a new pool of drivers – teenagers, who would be subjected to poor working conditions, predatory lease-to-own schemes, and woefully inadequate compensation,” OOIDA wrote in formal comments to FMCSA. LL