Editorial: Turning the Page at DOT

The long-awaited leadership transition at the U.S. Department of Transportation finally took place on June 27, with the Senate unanimously confirming Anthony Foxx as the next secretary.

While it was not clear as Transport Topics went to press when Foxx would be formally sworn in, there was anticipation within the freight and road-building communities that he will be more receptive to their needs than outgoing Secretary Ray LaHood.

“I’m confident he will be up to the test of providing this country with the first-rate, world-class transportation system our industry and our economy demand,” American Trucking Associations President Bill Graves said.

Brian Turmail, spokesman for The Associated General Contractors of America, suggested that being the mayor of Charlotte, N.C., puts Foxx in a position to “really appreciate the need for funding solutions.”

A mayor is “held accountable for traffic and potholes in the end, but also they’re in a pretty good position to appreciate how challenging it is to get any kind of regulatory approval on new infrastructure,” he said.

The freight sector did not always feel LaHood paid enough attention to their needs, at the expense of the nation’s economy.

On several occasions during his years as secretary, LaHood appeared more interested in promoting the use of bicycles than fighting for a long-term infrastructure funding source.

In his own defense during a final speech as secretary delivered just hours before the Senate vote, he said there is a lack of bipartisanship in Washington to solve problems, which could hamper the chances to pass a new highway funding law when the current one expires next year.

And in fairness to LaHood, we may all look back years from now with an even greater appreciation of the steps he took to combat distracted driving.

It was, after all, during his tenure as transportation secretary that the explosion of smart phones forever altered the primary way millions of Americans communicate: through text messages.

Unfortunately, that has resulted in an epidemic of far too many people being unwilling to put their phones down while traveling on the nation’s roads.

Rather than ignoring the growing problem, LaHood made it a national issue through press events and created several distracted-driving summits.“While we have not always seen eye-to-eye on the issues, no one can question Ray’s passion. . . ,” Graves said. “Ray’s zeal to elevate the issue of distracted driving on a national level was one of great importance, and our highways are safer because of it.”

That is something we can all thank him for.