Byrd Grateful for Year as Chairman, Urges Successors to Continue Unfinished Work

SAN DIEGO — Even after a 35-year career in trucking, Philip Byrd Sr. said he has been amazed at what he has learned about the industry during his one-year term as chairman of American Trucking Associations.

He reflected on the experience at the start of ATA’s Management Conference & Exhibition here and said despite strong efforts by ATA members and staff, much work remains to be done, especially on driver hours of service, the federal Highway Trust Fund and the Compliance, Safety, Accountability regulatory program.

Byrd said his ATA work led him to testify before Congress, attend a State of the Union address and meet with legislators and executive branch officials, but traveling the country and meeting people who work in trucking is what will stick with him most.

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“I have seen and experienced things that I would not have otherwise been able to,” said the CEO of Bulldog Hiway Express, a North Charleston, South Carolina, trucking company.

“But that all comes second to meeting the people in this industry,” citing the participants in the National Truck Driving Championships in Pittsburgh earlier this year as an example.

“It’s these relationships that allowed me to see the real DNA of the industry,” said Byrd, whose term will end Oct. 7, when he is succeeded as chairman by Duane Long.

Byrd said a restructuring of the 34-hour restart provision of HOS and establishing a new, long-term highway plan are the most pressing issues facing trucking. While he would have liked to have seen them settled during his term, he said the problems were caused by current political difficulties beyond the federation’s control.

“We’ve worked really hard on these issues. ATA didn’t fail; it’s the system that let us down,” Byrd said, referring to disagreements among the House, the Senate and the administration.