Truckers Tell House T&I to Drop Anti-Trucking Provisions in New Highway Bill

Bad news for trucking if repeat of H.R. 2 is proposed

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association said in a letter to the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee that if last year’s proposed highway bill is a template for the upcoming version, the organization will again adamantly oppose it.

“Whether you’re a fleet owner, company driver or owner-operator, last year’s legislation was bad news,” said Todd Spencer, president of OOIDA.  “Hopefully, the Committee will fix the harmful, anti-trucking provisions from last year’s bill. Some of what they are considering will result in more crashes, not less!”

The Association is anticipating the Committee will finalize this year’s Highway Bill legislation and expects to see an initial draft in the coming weeks. OOIDA’s letter outlines ways to improve the bill to be more supportive of small trucking businesses. If the 2021 bill looks like last year’s, H.R. 2, then it would include these objectionable trucking mandates:

–           Increase federal liability insurance requirements from $750,000 to $2,000,000
–           Time and/or distance caps on personal conveyance
–           Expansion of tolling authority via congestion pricing and diversion of revenue to non-highway programs
–           Automatic emergency brakes on all new trucks
–           Sleep apnea screening and testing rules
–           Publication of flawed CSA safety data
–           First steps toward a side underride guard requirement

“The Highway Bill is supposed to promote growth, not destroy small businesses,” said Spencer. “In particular, we are concerned about insurance and tolling, but would like to see the next highway bill modified to address all of our concerns.”
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association is the largest national trade association representing the interests of small-business trucking professionals and professional truck drivers. The Association currently has more than 150,000 members nationwide. OOIDA was established in 1973 and is headquartered in the greater Kansas City, Mo. area.

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