ATA Calls for Federal Action on Highway Safety Agenda

This story appears in the June 15 print edition of Transport Topics.

WASHINGTON — American Trucking Associations has called on Congress and the Department of Transportation to back an 18-point plan to reduce truck-involved crashes, with a particular emphasis on driver behavior.

The proposal, which also focuses on vehicle safety and improving overall motor carrier performance, was unveiled here June 9 during a Capitol Hill press conference.

ATA President Bill Graves called the package “an innovative agenda that will greatly improve safety for all motorists on our national highway system.”

He said that although trucking “is the safest it has been since the Department of Transportation began keeping crash statistics in 1975, even greater strides must be taken to further the trend.”

Congress is now drafting new highway funding and safety legislation that could be used to implement a number of ATA’s recommendations.

Barbara Windsor, ATA’s second vice chairwoman and president of Hahn Transportation Inc., New Market, Md., said 11 of the 18 policies focus on drivers of trucks and cars.

That is “because studies have shown that driver error and inattention contribute to the majority of these crashes,” said Windsor, who headed ATA’s safety task force.

Speaking at the press conference, John Hill, former head of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, said data showed 88% of all truck-related crashes “involved in some way the driver” of either a passenger vehicle or a truck.

Among ATA’s proposals are:

• Support for restrictions on distracting technologies, such as cell phones and GPS devices.

• Formation of uniform commercial driver licensing standards and a study of a graduated licensing program.

• Support for more truck parking facilities to encourage fatigued drivers to rest.

• Establishment of a national maximum speed limit of 65 mph.

• Endorsement of legislation and incentives to increase seat belt use.

• Efforts to increase the use of red-light cameras and electronic speed enforcement technology.

• Support for graduated licensing standards in all states for noncommercial teenage drivers.

• Support for tougher drinking and driving laws.

ATA’s proposal also calls for speed governing of large trucks built since 1992 and on certain noncommercial vehicles for drivers with specified on-road convictions.

The final piece of ATA’s plan focused on improving the performance of trucking companies by, as Windsor said, “giving motor carriers more information so we can put the best and safest drivers in our trucks.”

ATA’s proposal calls for the creation of a system to notify employers of driver infractions and a national clearinghouse for drug and alcohol test results.

Pending legislation would create a national testing database (click here for previous story).

Windsor said the extra information “will allow carriers to make informed decisions before putting drivers behind the wheel.”

In addition, ATA’s plan endorses the creation of a national registry of doctors to perform medical tests on drivers and an improved system for overseeing new trucking companies.

ATA previously released the framework of its proposal in October at the federation’s annual meeting in New Orleans (click here for previous story).

Robert Davidson, president of Arkansas Best Corp., said that the trucking industry was “vitally interested in safety.”

“The streets and the highways are our office — our workplace,” he said, “and our own families and friends travel these streets and highways, so for truckers, safety is job one every day.”

He noted that trucks operated by his ABF Freight System unit “have been using speed-limiting devices for decades.”

“We’re excited about electronic stability control to prevent rollovers. We think adaptive cruise control and lane-departure warning systems show promise,” he added.

ATA’s proposal drew praise from road safety and insurance groups.

Tom Hodgson, executive director of RoadSafe America, said that it “is time for Congress and the U.S. Department of Transportation to enact the recommendations made here today.”

Hodgson said the recommendations to limit truck speed and provide more parking options for fatigued drivers were “of special importance.”

David Snyder, vice president and associate general counsel of the American Insurance Association, said that “many of the key points [of ATA’s plan] are exactly the kinds of things we need to do [to] reduce motor vehicle deaths, crashes, injuries and economic costs.”

However, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association criticized the plan, contending it was “neither ‘progressive’ nor ‘safe’ and will cause more accidents than it prevents.” OOIDA specifically highlighted its opposition to speed limiters.

“Truck drivers need access to that power to keep up with the speed of traffic and to be able to maneuver around dangerous situations,” Todd Spencer, OOIDA’s executive vice president, said in a statement. “We already have speed limits in this country, so we should instead enforce those laws more effectively.”