Editorial: Valuable Partnership For Safety
In doing so, Slater responded in a dramatic way to criticism by safety advocates who complained the secretary was working too closely with trucking on educational programs, research and policy initiatives.
Speaking to American Trucking Associations’ board of directors, Slater extended an olive branch to the industry. At the same time, he challenged trucking to work with the Department of Transportation on reducing the number of truck-related fatalities by half over the next decade. That’s an ambitious goal, Slater acknowledged, but one that is achievable.
The secretary’s plan calls for doubling the number of compliance reviews conducts on carriers, limiting negotiated settlements with trucking companies that violate the law and the preparation of tough, new rules to shut down unfit carriers. That’s appropriate.
Slater rightly acknowledged that safety is a shared responsibility and that education is as much a tool in saving lives as enforcement is.
The speech reinforced the comments made by Federal Highway Administrator Kenneth Wykle to the ATA Foundation in May. Wykle was more blunt than his boss, saying, “We can’t do it alone.”
Trucking, which warmly embraced the administration’s common-sense regulatory reform several years ago, was disappointed and somewhat bewildered last winter when allegations of an “improper relationship” with the former Office of Motor Carriers were levied by safety groups. An investigation by DOT’s inspector general found that trucking had done nothing wrong, but the report made DOT officials wary of working with their industry partners.
Despite the best efforts of critics to fan the flames of controversy, Slater re-emphasized his department’s commitment to working together with America’s responsible trucking companies to improve safety. The partnership will save lives and make the nation’s roads safe for both drivers of both cars and trucks.
