OOIDA encourages support for restroom bill

June 9, 2023

Mark Schremmer

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If Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, has his way, the days of truck drivers being denied restroom access will soon be a thing of the past.

Nehls’ bipartisan bill, The Trucker Bathroom Access Act, aims to ensure that truck drivers have access to restroom facilities when they are picking up or delivering cargo.

HR3869 does not require businesses to construct new restrooms. Instead, it would only mandate that truck drivers be granted access if the business has a restroom available to their customers or employees.

Nehls joined with Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa., on June 6 to reintroduce The Trucker Bathroom Access Act to the U.S. House of Representatives.

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, which helped craft the bill, asked its more than 150,000 members to express support to their representatives.

“Using a restroom is about the most basic thing that any person could ask for during their workday,” OOIDA wrote. “But unbelievably, professional drivers are frequently denied restroom access when they are picking up or delivering cargo.”

Nehls said the problem of shippers and receivers not allowing truck drivers to use the restroom worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic and has continued.

“I am proud to reintroduce legislation that supports our nation’s truckers,” Nehls said in a news release. “Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, facilities across the country have shut down their bathrooms which has caused essential employees, like our truckers, not to have access to use the restroom at work. Truckers are this nation’s backbone, and we owe them for the tireless contributions they continue to make to keep our country moving. I am glad to once again partner with Congresswoman Houlahan on this commonsense legislation to allow our nation’s truckers access to bathrooms while they are transporting goods on the road.”

To support the bill, go to FightingForTruckers.com. The website has made it easy for truckers to write or call their representative and ask them to support HR3869. Truckers are encouraged to let their lawmakers know about the times they’ve been denied access to the restroom while working to keep the supply chain moving. LL