NPTC Supports Truck Safety Agency

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- While calling for improved safety, the National Private Truck Council joined the current swell of support for a federal agency to concentrate solely on supervising truck safety.

Council officials renewed their call for the federal government to establish such an agency during the group's annual meeting from May 2 through 5.

Calls for a federal trucking safety administration have gained momentum over the past few months. Kenneth Mead, inspector general of the Department of Transportation, was the latest to lend support to the idea in his April 27 testimony before the Senate Commerce Committee (5-3, p. 1).

NPTC's top executives outlined a proposal for improving truck safety that includes changing current laws and working with the Federal Highway Administration on education programs. Their effort also includes a call for reducing the number for truck-related fatalities and encouraging members to participate in FHWA's "No Zone" campaign, which warns automobile drivers to avoid driving in trucks' blind spots.

Julie Cirillo, program manager of the Office of Motor Carrier and Highway Safety, praised the group's commitment, calling it one of her agency's "most important safety partners." She attended the convention to promote the No-Zone program as well as to talk about the greater emphasis being placed on enforcement and compliance at OMCHS.

Cirillo said field investigators were instructed April 21 to double the number of compliance reviews, and field offices were told to issue stiffer fines using a new fee schedule approved by Congress in 1998.

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