The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association says that while there are positive things about the US Senate’s newly passed highway bill, the Developing a Reliable and Innovative Vision for the Economy (DRIVE) Act, there are also shortcomings with regard to long-term funding, needed regulatory changes and highway safety.
“It’s a step forward in some ways, but there were missed opportunities for relevant, needed reforms to the agency that oversees commercial motor carriers,” said Todd Spencer, OOIDA’s executive vice-president. “We have concerns that not only do many regulations fail to improve safety, but some may actually be undermining it. We originally had high hopes for the stronger bill that had come out of the Senate Commerce Committee and legislation like Senator Deb Fischer's TRUCK Safety Reform Act (S.1669), both of which largely reflected the need for significant changes at the FMCSA. Unfortunately, what could have been a great bill for small-business truckers was defeated by internal politics during negotiations by Senate Republican and Democratic leaders.”
Highway funding authorization previously in place expired July 31 and in addition to the six-year bill passed by the Senate, both chambers of Congress also passed short-term measures to keep the program running until late October (and it was quickly signed by President Obama). The short-term measure allows time for the both the US House and Senate to get to work on a combined, long-term bill after they return from an August recess.
OOIDA recognizes that the DRIVE Act does include a number of provisions regarding reform of the Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) program and does include important changes in the way the FMCSA develops new regulations moving forward. However, the bill misses an opportunity to require a comprehensive review of truck safety regulations to ensure that those on the books have an impact on reducing crashes. Further, an important provision ensuring that any effort to increase financial responsibility requirements for motor carriers was data driven and actually considered the negative impacts to small-business truckers was removed when the bill came to the Senate floor without a single vote.
Finally, OOIDA is concerned that the bill’s lack of long-term funding options leaves the door open for the introduction of highly burdensome options such as additional or new tolls. Such initiatives would be financially detrimental to all highway users while also having the unintended consequence of creating unsafe conditions as truckers choose alternate routes other than tolled roads. Truckers are also concerned that changes to the bill set the stage for additional Highway Trust Fund dollars to be directed to mass transit.
“The reauthorization of the highway bill represents the opportune time to inject updated, relevant changes that not only improve safety but keep the federal government from continuing to run over the rights of small businesses and professional truckers,” said Spencer. “Later this year the House of Representatives will consider their bill, and we look forward to working with the House and the Senate as this process moves forward to ensure that Congress not only passes a long-term reauthorization bill, but that that reauthorization bill is something small-business truckers can support.”