Trucking news and briefs for Thursday, March 6, 2025:
Bills to address predatory towing considered in Missouri
Two new bills introduced in Missouri seek to combat the rising problem of predatory towing, and the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association testified about how predatory towing hurts truck owner-operators and other drivers.
Missouri's House Transportation Committee held a hearing Tuesday on HB 745, which aims to address longstanding issues with predatory practices. A companion bill, SB 516, is also in the state's Senate.
The bills, introduced by Sen. Justin Brown (R-Rolla) and Rep. Dave Griffith (R-Jefferson City), propose reforms and grant the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) the authority to regulate nonconsensual towing procedures for commercial vehicles.
Nonconsensual tows are most often police-initiated tows after an accident on the highway and do not cover booting or towing from private property.
“Small-business truckers often get stuck with bills that are arbitrarily inflated by thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars,” OOIDA Executive Vice President Lewie Pugh testified. “We appreciate the Missouri legislature’s interest in this issue and we look forward to continuing to work with them and other states to get small-business truckers a means of contesting predatory towing practices.”
Pugh added that "there's a lot of good towing companies," but noted that "you get unscrupulous ones who put egregious storage fees that you can't even afford to get your equipment back, to get it somewhere to get it fixed in the first place."
He said that he's "a free-market guy and I believe in a free market society, but I also believe we all have a right to have someone to go to when we've been wronged," which is the problem truckers in Missouri run into when they receive an outlandish towing bill.
Missouri Rep. Michael Burton (D-Lakeshire) asked Pugh why the market shouldn't be left to "work itself out. If there are companies that are doing wrong by the way that they are charging people to tow trucks, well then doesn't that open up an availability for someone else to start a company to do it?"
Pugh said that would work if the tows weren't nonconsensual, but when truck owners don't have the choice in who is called, such as at the scene of an accident when police initiate the tow, there's no recourse.
[Related: $2,250 for a traffic cone: Predatory towing under fire in comments to FMCSA]
Congress to take up commercial trucker overtime pay legislation
Members of Congress this week reintroduced the Guaranteeing Overtime for Truckers (GOT Truckers) Act, which would remove the trucking industry's exemption from overtime pay requirements from the Fair Labor Standards Act, established in 1938.
The bicameral, bipartisan legislation has been introduced in both chambers of Congress in the two previous Congressional sessions but saw no movement in either attempt.
[Related: Overtime pay for employee drivers: Potential market benefits and drawbacks]
The House version of the bill was introduced by Reps. Jeff Van Drew (R-New Jersey) and Mark Takano (D-California). The Senate version was brought forth by Sens. Alex Padilla (D-California) and Ed Markey (D-Massachusetts).
The legislation is supported by the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the Truck Safety Coalition, and the Institute for Safer Trucking.
"America’s truckers are the backbone of our economy, keeping goods moving and ensuring our supply chain stays strong," said OOIDA President Todd Spencer. "Yet, despite their essential role, trucking remains one of the few professions in America denied guaranteed overtime pay. It’s long past time the hard work of the men and women behind the wheel are fairly compensated."
[Related: Why ATA opposes overtime pay, and why they're wrong]
CVSA opens nominations for annual driver award
The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) is now accepting nominations for its International Driver Excellence Award (IDEA), an annual award that recognizes an extraordinary professional truck driver and their commitment to public safety.
Nominees for the award will be individuals who have gone above and beyond the performance of their duties as a commercial motor vehicle driver, distinguishing themselves conspicuously and beyond the call of duty through the achievement of safe operation and compliance carried out with evident distinction for an extended period of time, CVSA said.
[Related: Compete for Overdrive's 2025 Trucker of the Year honor]
The nominated individual must also “be of personal character beyond reproach with no disqualifying past behavior as indicated in the award criteria,” the organization added.
Nominees must have:
- At least 25 cumulative years of crash-free driving in a commercial motor vehicle with a clean driving record for the past three years
- No felony convictions
- No safety-related driving suspensions in the past three years
- No driver violations in the past three years, excluding form and manner violations
IDEA is open to the entire commercial motor vehicle industry. Nominees do not need to be a member of CVSA to apply.
The 2025 IDEA recipient and a guest will receive a complimentary economy flight to Denver International Airport and a one-room, two-night stay at Sheraton Denver Downtown to attend the CVSA Annual Conference and Exhibition in Denver, Colorado. The IDEA winner will be recognized at the annual conference awards ceremony on Sept. 24, where they will receive $5,000 and a crystal trophy.
CVSA’s online nomination form allows individuals to easily fill out the application and submit the required supporting documentation. The deadline for nominations is Friday, May 9.
The IDEA Program Committee will review and authenticate IDEA nominations and recommend the selected IDEA recipient to the CVSA Executive Committee.
[Related: CVSA crowns annual IDEA winner]
