Editorial: We Beg to Differ
This Editorial appears in the July 27 print edition of Transport Topics. Click here to subscribe today.
Most people in trucking quietly do their useful work and don’t expect to end up on the pages of the New York Times.
We therefore were taken aback by the Gray Lady’s July 21 editorial on trucking. Specifically, we object to the allegations that the industry is recklessly advocating to Congress concerning younger drivers, hours of service and the publication of safety scores.
To operate a Class 7 or 8 truck in interstate commerce, a driver needs to be at least 21 to get a commercial driver license. Many states, however, allow intrastate operation by 18- to 21-year-olds.
So driving the more than 800 miles from El Paso to Texarkana, all within Texas, is legitimate for a 20-year-old, but driving around the Texarkana area in Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana is not.
That is more than a little odd. We do not support a blanket age reduction to 18, but we do endorse Sen. Deb Fischer’s legislation that would allow pilot programs to examine what can be changed safely. The Nebraska Republican’s bill is a modest, incremental proposal and not an “egregious” act, as the Times said.
On HOS, we support a 34-hour restart period for drivers — as does the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Our quibble with FMCSA is on the nature of the 34 hours.
The agency says the 34-hour stretch must include 1-5 a.m. on consecutive days. We say that’s obsessive micro-management.
Thirty-four hours is 34 hours, so let the driver and fleet management select when the restart begins. That’s sensible, not “irresponsible.”
As for the online publication of safety scores, we remain steadfast in seeking a scoring system that measures critical, relevant activity.
Studies by the Government Accountability Office, the National Transportation Safety Board, the Department of Transportation’s Inspector General, a DOT special review panel and the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute all have raised concerns about FMCSA’s Compliance, Safety, Accountability program.
CSA is a good concept, which is run by public-spirited people at FMCSA. But all of those critiques — from institutions independent of trucking — agree that CSA is not quite getting at what it needs to capture.
Trucking does question many of the fine points of regulation aimed at it by states and the federal government. This is not done to dodge obligations but to operate safely, in an environmentally responsible fashion while serving shippers efficiently and providing for the welfare of carrier employees.
