Opinion: Pass Seven Extensions and What Do You Get?

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B>By Bill Graves

I>President

merican Trucking Associations

I recently delivered a “State of the Industry” speech at the National Press Club before a collection of writers from the national news media that included the Associated Press, Reuters, Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal, our own Transport Topics and other trade press. When I scheduled that speech I had hoped to talk about the many positive achievements contained in the recently passed highway reauthorization bill. Unfortunately, my speech-making plans were premature: The highway bill didn’t pass in time, and at this writing, the nation is still waiting for final passage of a highway bill.

With apologies to Tennessee Ernie Ford: “You pass seven extensions and what do you get? Another day older and no new roads yet.”

Congress deals with myriad issues, and each is important and deserving of the attention and focus they receive. I think we all understand that with a limited calendar, there are going to be delays. But the problem with delaying highway reauthorization is the far-reaching consequences of this issue, including safety, congestion, jobs, the environment and overall quality of life.

Highway reauthorization is of critical importance to our nation and to the motor carrier industry. Without it, new roads aren’t being built, critical maintenance needs are being ignored and common-sense solutions to current regulatory problems aren’t being enacted.

The highway bill represents the principal opportunity to determine highway policy in the United States over the next five or six years. Almost every issue, every concern and every form of funding, taxes, tolls or bond decisions will be decided in this one, solitary bill.

As long as nothing happens in Congress over the bill, nothing good is happening on our roads. Monies that could be spent improving highway safety aren’t being utilized. Over the past 20 years, the industry’s fatal-crash rate has declined by 50%, while over the same period the number of large-truck registrations has increased by 42%. This remarkable improvement occurred while the number of passenger vehicles increased by more than 45%. While a host of safety statistics clearly show that the trucking industry is safe, we need the U.S. Congress to help so we can do more.

We need Congress to take action on the codification of the current hours-of-service rules. It’s an important safety issue for the trucking industry that needs to be addressed. We’re working with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration of the Department of Transportation to see that this happens. While they’re not perfect rules, there never will be a perfect solution. What counts is how well they are working and whether they are resulting in more rested drivers and safer motor carrier operations.

The data ATA have collected to date certainly indicate that was the outcome in 2004 under the new rules. The accident rate of ATA members in 2004 was as good, and in some segments even better, than the accident rate in 2003, under the old rules. The driver out-of-service rate improved in 2004 as well, demonstrating that driver compliance with HOS has improved. Companies, drivers and the enforcement community have adjusted to the rule, and we need to move forward. More rulemaking will lead to more litigation and more uncertainty.

We urge Congress to take the action necessary to establish the certainty we need in order to continue delivering America’s freight safely and efficiently.

We also need Congress to re-examine the provision in the Patriot Act requiring drivers seeking hazardous materials endorsements for their commercial driver licenses to undergo a background check. The endorsement and the background check are required for a driver transporting a range of commodities from certain volumes of paint, nail polish and chewing gum extract to explosives, poisonous gases or large volumes of flammable liquids. Right now, the system just isn’t working.

The trucking industry wholeheartedly supports the security objective of preventing terrorists from gaining access to hazmat loads. All we ask in return is that the background checks be performed in a manner that is convenient for drivers and keeps costs to a minimum. Today, the process is not uniform throughout the states; there aren’t enough fingerprinting locations; there are limited hours of operation at those locations and the costs are nearly double the amount being paid for aviation industry workers’ background checks.

We have a lot of issues on our plate, and while their effect will be felt first by the trucking industry, it won’t stop there. Without proper forethought or consideration, anything that has an effect on the trucking industry could have a ripple effect throughout our economy.

That is something none of us want to see.

ATA is a national trade association for the trucking industry with headquarters in Alexandria, Va. It owns Transport Topics Publishing Group.

This opinion piece ran in the the June 20 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.