ATA, Ala. Affiliate Disagree on State Law to Certify Training on Moving Metal Coil

American Trucking Associations and its affiliate in Alabama are at odds over the state’s certification requirement for truck drivers who transport metal coil, with the national federation arguing that the regulation should not be enforced and the state association supporting the requirement.

The national federation sees the requirement as an unnecessary burden that could lead to a patchwork of state trucking regulations and has asked the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to declare that it cannot be enforced.

“The concern is expanding it to other states and not necessarily making it just steel coil, but making it almost anything they want to,” Ted Scott, director of engineering at ATA, told Transport Topics.

Alabama’s Metal Coil Securement Act, passed in 2009, directed the state’s Department of Public Safety to write rules requiring that truck drivers who transport metal coils in trips starting or ending in the state be trained in federal rules for securing the coils, FMCSA said in a Nov. 23 Federal Register notice seeking comment on ATA’s petition.

Alabama’s rules established a $25 Web-based training course for drivers and required that drivers carry certificates when they drive, but the certificate requirement was rescinded. The state certifies carriers’ own training programs to be sufficient with the requirement, FMCSA said.

“It was a response to a number of metal coil spills in and around the Birmingham area,” said Frank Filgo, president of the Alabama Trucking Association. Metal coils, rolls of metal usually tied down to a flatbed trailer, typically weigh up to 50,000 pounds. Their weight and mobility can make them dangerous if they come loose.

If a state transportation law or regulation is stricter than federal law, the federal government must decide whether the law can be enforced, FMCSA said. This decision is based on whether the state law has a safety benefit, is compatible with federal regulations and causes an unreasonable burden on interstate commerce.

“[American Trucking Associations] submits that there is little question that Alabama’s requirement . . .  falls squarely within the scope of preemption,” the national federation wrote in its December 2010 petition.

The petition focused mainly on the certificate requirement, which Alabama later repealed, but the regulation is still a burden on carriers, Scott said.

“They made changes, and they accommodated some of the problems, but it’s still difficult,” he said. For carriers whose training programs are certified, the state’s database where they must enter drivers’ names is cumbersome.

“It’s an administrative nightmare,” Scott said.

Maverick USA also has had trouble with the database.

“We have to manually enter these,” said Dean Newell, vice president of safety at the Little Rock, Ark., flatbed carrier. “There’s no way to upload these automatically or anything like that.”

Alabama’s regulation is “uncalled for,” Newell said.

“If this is allowed to go through, what are we going to do if the state of Florida decides they want to do something for a toaster, or the state of Mississippi decides they want to do something for particle board?” Newell asked.

Federal regulations already cover metal coil securement in great detail, Newell said.

The Alabama Trucking Association supports the law, and Filgo said he fears that, if it is overturned, the state would replace it with a law that could be worse for trucking.

“We have not had a metal coil spill since the passage of the bill,” he said, “so apparently it works.”

Filgo shares his support with Alabama-based carriers, including the entire board of directors of his organization, he said, noting the regulation’s detractors are based outside of Alabama.

Boyd Bros. Transportation Inc., Clayton, Ala., is one of the supporters.

“As a company, we think all the training and extra knowledge you can gain on metal coil securement is worth it,” said James Ransom, Boyd Bros.’ director of safety.

Boyd Bros. trains all of its drivers in metal coil securement, Ransom said. The state Department of Public Safety certified the carrier’s training program, so it needs only to enter drivers’ names into the state database when they complete training.

“I’m sure that [American Trucking Associations] is trying to look out for the best interest of all companies regarding the certification law,” Ransom said, adding that the requirement is not an undue burden for Boyd Bros.

Representatives of the Alabama DPS did not return a request for comment by press time.

FMCSA is accepting public comments on the petition until Jan. 23, the agency said.