OOIDA to President Trump – Give truckers ‘relief’ from ELD mandate

With only days remaining until a $2 billion mandate requiring most commercial vehicles to install electronic logging devices, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association is appealing to President Donald Trump to delay the rule’s implementation.

In a letter sent to the White House on Dec. 13, the Association, along with a coalition of 10 industry groups representing diverse segments of the trucking industry, are calling on the president to use his executive powers to provide “relief” to small-business truckers. The letter calls for the administration to pursue at least a 90-day waiver for all sectors of the trucking industry “to provide the additional time necessary to address the very serious and reasonable concerns of stakeholders.

The letter points out the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has already granted temporary waivers for certain industry groups, including livestock haulers and the truck rental sector.

“Not only does the granting of these waivers indicate the agency is not fully prepared for the December 18th deadline, but they demonstrate FMCSA has the capability to provide targeted relief for specific segments of the trucking industry,” the letter states.

Since it was first signed into law by President Obama in 2012, a broad coalition of trucking industry groups and drivers have opposed the ELD mandate, citing its cost impact to small business and flaws in the mandate’s implementation process. In October, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance announced it would conduct “soft” enforcement of the mandate until April 1, 2018, “a clear sign that even the officials expected to enforce the mandate are not prepared for implementation,” the letter states.

The letter calls on Trump to honor promises he made on the campaign trail to reduce the regulatory burden on American small business owners.

“When you were elected, truckers breathed a sigh of relief, believing your commitment to providing regulatory relief would reverse decades of government telling them what, how, when and where to drive,” the letter states. “While we are thankful much progress has been made on behalf of drivers in other policy areas, truckers are wondering why the most expensive, disruptive and controversial mandate in the history of trucking has garnered so little attention from your administration?”

A total of 11 groups have signed on to the letter:

• Agricultural Retailers Association
• American Pyrotechnics Association
• Lucas Oil Products Inc.
• Mid-West Truckers Association
• National Association of Small Trucking Companies
• National Cotton Council
• National Ground Water Association
• National Hay Association
• Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association
• Rural and Agricultural Council of America
• United States Cattlemen’s Association