Eight trucking industry stakeholders testified before members of Congress Wednesday in a hearing about the state of trucking and the challenges truck drivers, trucking companies, brokers and safety advocates face.
The testimony from each of the stakeholders, along with their answers to questions from 17 representatives who are part of the House Subcommittee on Highways and Transit, will be used to help shape the next highway funding bill after 2015’s FAST Act expires in 2020.
Topics discussed during the hearing included driver pay, turnover and retention; the driver shortage; driver training; hours of service; autonomous technology; under-21 interstate truckers; underride guards and more.
The panel heard testimony from Todd Spencer, president of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association; Chris Spear, president and CEO of the American Trucking Associations; Cathy Chase, president of the Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety; LaMont Byrd, director of the health and safety department for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters; Jason Craig, director of governmental affairs for C.H. Robinson; Rodney Noble, senior director of transportation global procurement for PepsiCo; Deputy Chief Mark Savage with the Colorado State Patrol on behalf of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance; and Andy Young, a truck safety advocate.
Video of the full hearing can be seen here and at the end of this story. Below are some of the topics discussed during the hearing and what trucking stakeholders had to say to the subcommittee:
Hours of service/ELDs
OOIDA President Spencer said there is a disconnect between compliance with safety regulations and improved safety outcomes, specifically with electronic logs.
“ELDs were a monstrous mandate on small business truckers…that realize no safety benefit,” he said. “If it has a direct impact on safety, it is quite likely a negative one because of the pressures it puts on drivers.”
