OOIDA’s Spencer to inform lawmakers at House hearing about challenges truckers face

June 10, 2019

Mark Schremmer

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The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association sent a Call to Action to its more than 160,000 members to notify them that OOIDA President Todd Spencer will be testifying at a congressional hearing on Wednesday, June 12.

Spencer will be among eight witnesses to testify at the House Highways and Transit subcommittee meeting, which is titled “Under Pressure: The State of Trucking in America.”

“The hearing is an opportunity to educate lawmakers about the industry and bring substantive changes on issues, such as truck parking, driver training, detention time and excessive regulations,” OOIDA wrote.

Spencer plans to tell lawmakers about the hardships truck drivers endure and the regulations they must follow, including many that do “nothing” to promote highway safety.

“Truckers work in extremely difficult conditions,” Spencer wrote in his submitted testimony. “Inclement and unpredictable weather, dangerously congested highways and deteriorating roads add extra stress and volatility to their jobs. They strive to comply with an outrageously extensive list of federal, state, and local regulations, many of which have nothing to do with highway safety. A prime example is the electronic logging device mandate.”

Joining Spencer as witnesses will be:

  • Cathy Chase, president of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety.
  • Chris Spear, president of American Trucking Associations.
  • LaMont Byrd, director of the health and safety department for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
  • Jason Craig, director of government affairs for C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc.
  • Rodney Noble, senior director of transportation global procurement for PepsiCo.
  • Deputy Chief Mark Savage of the Colorado Highway Patrol on behalf of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance.
  • Andy Young, truck safety advocate.

The hearing is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. Eastern time on June 12. A live video stream of the hearing can be found here.