Foxx Emphasizes Trucking Safety and Efficiency in Video
ORLANDO, Fla. — Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx used his first direct message to trucking, delivered through a taped video, to stress the continued importance of safety and to thank the industry for its commitment to that goal as well as its commitment to work in partnership with the Department of Transportation.
“My overriding priority is to make sure the system is the safest in the world,” Foxx said in the four-minute video, shown here Oct. 21 to attendees at American Trucking Associations’ Management Conference & Exhibition. Foxx originally planned to speak in person at the meeting, but had to cancel due to a scheduling conflict.
He also stressed the agency’s commitment to efficiency, saying DOT is “looking to do more with what we have.”
The new secretary, the former mayor of Charlotte and grandson of a North Carolina trucker, didn’t outline any policy positions.
He did offer updates on three trucking-related issues.
Foxx cited a recent agency move to eliminate the need for drivers to file vehicle inspection reports when they find no defects, a step that he said would save carriers $1.7 billion annually and trim 47 million hours of unneeded paperwork.
He noted safety benefits from hours-of-service rules changes, saying DOT believes 1,400 crashes and 560 injuries will be prevented and 19 lives saved every year. Foxx also mentioned the agency’s continued work on the electronic logging device rule, saying DOT “expects to issue the rule very soon.”
