Editorial: Motor Carrier Administration’s Time Has Come

The drive to create a separate federal agency specializing in the issues and interests of trucking moved into high gear last week, dramatically improving the chances that such a unit will be in operation before too much more time passes.

The House Transportation Committee approved legislation to create a federal Motor Carrier Administration within the Department of Transportation, and the bill will be considered by the full House next month. On the Senate side, Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) introduced his bill to accomplish the same task and promised committee action soon after Labor Day.

The fact that the House bill, proposed by Rep. Bud Shuster (R-Pa.), also attracted wide Democratic support, including that of James L. Oberstar (D-Minn.), increases its chances of becoming law.

This is all great news, though years later than it should have occurred.

But the proposal is still far from becoming a reality. DOT continues to support the retention of trucking-related issues within the Federal Highway Administration.

And while Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.) has said he’s now prepared to consider a national trucking agency, his original proposal to move responsibility for such programs to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration lives on, in the form of a Senate bill sponsored by Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-N.Y.).

The creation of a federal trucking administration is long overdue. It’s mind-boggling that an industry that dominates the movement of freight — to the tune of about $350 billion a year in annual billings — isn’t represented at the same level as the other major freight modes, which barely bill $55 billion a year.

If we had a Motor Carrier Administration, perhaps we would already have a fair, scientifically based revision of the hours-of-service regulations, which is a keystone to trucking operations. The current rules haven’t been updated in more than 60 years, despite the vast changes in trucks, roads and driving conditions.

The interminable process of trying to update hours of service underscores the necessity for the new agency. As it is now, competing political interests have helped create a logjam that has stymied all efforts of modernization.

It’s time for Congress to act: Create the Motor Carrier Administration and help spark the improvements in trucking that will help the industry move America’s freight safely and quickly.