OOIDA President Todd Spencer to testify at House subcommittee hearing

June 5, 2019

Land Line Staff

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Todd Spencer, president and CEO of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, is scheduled to testify at a House Highways and Transit subcommittee meeting at 10 a.m. Eastern time on Wednesday, June 12.

The hearing is titled “Under Pressure: The State of Trucking in America.”

To access a live video stream of the hearing on June 12, go here.

The goal of the hearing is to focus on the challenges and obstacles facing the trucking industry. Spencer’s testimony is expected to address such topics as driver turnover and retention, truck parking, driver training, detention time, and excessive regulations.

OOIDA, which has more than 160,000 members, is dedicated to fighting for the rights of all truckers.

The Association has been extremely vocal in saying that the idea of a truck driver shortage is a myth. In March, a report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics affirmed OOIDA’s stance, saying the evidence does not support the theory of a driver shortage and that increasing wages could alleviate any issues with recruitment and retention.

In addition, OOIDA has been a proponent for an entry-level driver training program and has opposed allowing under-21 drivers to operate a commercial motor vehicle in interstate commerce, saying that younger drivers are more likely to receive a traffic violation and that, without a driver shortage, there is no justification for decreasing the driving age.

The OOIDA Foundation has also recently released information on such topics as detention time.  According to a survey of more than 1,250 truckers, only 29% said they receive detention time on all loads.