March 15, 2005

Note: To print this newsletter in its entirety, simply press the print button on your web browser.

CLICK HERE to send us your comments about this newsletter.

Headline News

• The State of PTDI – Chairman Ray Haight’s Comments
• TCA Files Comments in Support of the FMCSA’s NPRM on the HOS Rule
• House Passes $284 Billion Highway Bill

The State of PTDI – Chairman Ray Haight's Comments

At TCA's Annual Convention in Las Vegas, Nevada from March 6 – 9, 2005, PTDI Chairman Ray Haight addressed the TCA Board of Directors on the state of PTDI. Click here to view Ray's complete comments on PTDI from his report delivered on March 6, 2005.

Top

TCA Files Comments in Support of the FMCSA’s NPRM on the HOS Rule

In comments filed with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) on March 10, 2005 , the Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) told the agency “TCA strongly supports the agency in its defense of the current hours of service (HOS) rule.” Our comments were filed in response to the FMCSA's January 24, 2005 Federal Register Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on HOS, which contained no changes to the current rule. The agency had stated they were “putting forward the 2003 rule as the ‘proposal' on which public comments are sought… and asks the public to comment on what changes to that rule, if any are necessary to respond to the concerns raised by the court, and to provide data or studies that would support changes to, or continued use of the 2003 rule.”

In our filed comments, we reiterated that TCA had filed a Motion For Leave To Intervene in the HOS court challenge in 2003 that had been brought by Public Citizen and others. We had intervened in support of the FMCSA to help ensure that benefits the industry gained under the current rule would not be lost – specifically the 34-hour restart; the 11-hours driving time; and no mandate for electronic on-board recorders (EOBRs). We further stated “we continue to collect and process data from the truckload industry in an effort to provide meaningful evidence that the current HOS rule not only provides reasonable and compelling data that the highway user community is protected, but also that the health and well-being of the driver is sufficiently addressed.” To this point, we offered our support for some initial introductory data that has been collected and compiled by the American Transportation Research Institute's ( ATRI 's) “ Safety and Productivity of New Hours of Service, Preliminary Data Findings ” report, and by Dr. Mark Rosekind, President and Chief Scientist of Alertness Solutions in his report, “ Managing Safety, Alertness and Performance through Federal Hours of Service Regulations: Opportunities and Challenges. ” In particular, Dr. Rosekind's data and findings support the 34-hour restart and “do not show significant differences between 10 and 11 hour drive times.” Furthermore, to the lack of extensive data and evidence currently available to support the current HOS rule, we requested FMCSA to keep the record open for an additional 60 days [from March 10] so that TCA and other interested parties could continue to provide “beneficial and meaningful data in ensuring both the needs of the industry and the community at-large is preserved.” As a point of clarification, this was not a request to extend the comment period from the March 10 deadline.

Top

House Passes $284 Billion Highway Bill

On March 10, the House version of the six year $284 billion highway bill – H.R. 3 – “The Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy For Users” (TEA-LU) – was overwhelmingly approved by a vote of 417-9. Of significant note to the trucking industry, the bill still includes language that would grant states more authority to levy tolls for repairs to existing Interstate highways. This was the result of an early debate in the House in which an amendment sponsored by Representative Mark Kennedy (R-MN) that would have let states impose tolls on Interstate highways for newly built or expanded stretches of road until construction costs were paid was rejected.

Other key amendments that were approved as part of the House bill were the institution of a new requirement on Canadian and Mexican commercial motor vehicle drivers to undergo background checks as U.S. operators are required to do prior to transporting hazardous materials (HM). Another amendment to the House bill, introduced by Representative Jerry Moran (R-KS), was passed that affects an existing exemption from the hours of service (HOS) rules as they apply to drivers hauling agricultural commodities and farm supplies within a 100-mile radius from the commodity or distribution point. This amendment:

•  makes a technical correction to the definition of “agricultural commodity” to mean “any agricultural commodity, food, feed, fiber or livestock;” and

•  protects the agricultural HOS exemption by federal law, preventing the Secretary of Transportation from rolling back or revoking the HOS exemption approved by Congress.

In addition, a proposed driver's HOS amendment by Representative John Boozman (R-AK) was withdrawn which would have permitted truckers to break up on-duty periods with up to two hours of off-duty time.

Top