Senate Panel to Examine Truck Safety July 29
Safety concerns stemming from several recent truck accidents have prompted Senate transportation leaders to schedule a hearing July 29 to press regulators about their initiatives for improving highway safety.
Members of the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security Subcommittee are expected to review the causes of the accidents, which are under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board.
UPDATE: Ferro defends HOS rules at hearing
One accident that garnered national attention involved a Wal-Mart Stores truck driver who was traveling on the New Jersey Turnpike. One person was killed, and television actor Tracy Morgan suffered numerous injuries. Morgan is suing Wal-Mart for negligence.
The panel also is expected to question regulators about the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s hours- of-service rules that took effect July 1, 2013. They mandate truckers who reach a maximum of 70 hours of driving in a week to account for a 34-hour restart between their workweeks. That includes at least two periods of rest from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. during that time off.
A proposal by Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) that was added to a fiscal 2015 transportation funding bill would require FMCSA to suspend the HOS rules for a year to give the agency time to justify its safety claims before Congress. Collins’ proposal, supported by American Trucking Associations, prompted opposition from a small group of Democrats.
The hearing begins at 3 p.m. Witnesses have yet to be announced.
