The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) said it wants a review of highway spending after it read a report issued by the National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission.
OOIDA agreed there is a need for additional funds but wonders why there was no thorough evaluation of how highway user dollars are currently spent.
"This commission’s report is a waste of public and private resources, let alone the time and energy of transportation policymakers," said Todd Spencer, OOIDA executive vice-president. "They neglected to address the most fundamental problem associated with financing our nation’s infrastructure--reining in and redirecting ineffective and wasteful spending on programs and initiatives that aren’t aligned with actual construction and maintenance for our highway system."
OOIDA said that most relevant to truckers are the commission’s recommendations for a 15-cent increase in the diesel fuel tax, doubling the annual heavy vehicle use tax and further increases in the truck tire tax. Also, the commission suggests more toll roads, conversion of existing public roads into toll roads, and a system to record and tax miles driven.
Before agreeing to pay more, the association said it will demand that transportation tax dollars collected be used in the most effective and efficient ways to address the nation’s significant infrastructure needs.
"This is like giving your kid money and sending him to the store for milk and bread," said Spencer. "If he comes back asking for more money, you’ll want to know why. You’ll also expect him to go back and actually get what he was supposed to in the first place."
OOIDA noted that trucks make up only seven percent of traffic on the nation’s highways, but the various highway-use taxes that truckers pay amount to more than 36 percent of the total money contributed to the Federal Highway Trust Fund.