Editorial

Here’s a true story: The editorial office of Transport Topics overlooks a cul-de-sac that leads off a busy commercial street. There is a lot of construction going on in that cul-de-sac and last week one of the trucks delivering ready-mixed concrete broke down.

And so ends another round in what has seemed to be a never-ending battle to rewrite the federal hours-of-service rule that regulates the nation’s commercial drivers.

Once again last week, natural gas as a trucking fuel was a major source of attention, as Daimler Trucks North America announced a few new models powered by the alternative fuel.

The move by Rep. Matt Cartwright to force all motor carriers to increase their minimum injury and property damage insurance coverage by almost 500% is a misguided solution in search of a problem.

In general, 2012 yielded higher revenue and slightly better profits for motor carriers than the prior year, but not enough in many cases to fully compensate for the extra work required to get there.

Fairness is a bedrock requirement for a just taxation system. And fairness is surely what state officials in Alabama had in mind some years ago when they imposed a 4% sales tax on diesel fuel purchases by railroads.

So the latest chapter in the seemingly never-ending saga of the government’s road to a new hours-of-service rule for the nation’s truck drivers has begun, and we can all expect at least a 2% to 3% decline in productivity as a result.

The long-awaited leadership transition at the U.S. Department of Transportation finally took place on June 27, with the Senate unanimously confirming Anthony Foxx as the next secretary.

We are a week away from what we believe will turn out to be a monumental foul-up by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration in regard to the government’s hours-of-service regulation.

Trucking officials have always said they are most willing to take part in Southern California’s campaign to clean up the air around its two great container ports. But it became clear very early on that the Port of Los Angeles was pursuing a regulatory agenda far beyond air quality.