July 2014 |
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crease the required minimum
amount of liability insurance
for motor carriers.
It also did not include
language in the Senate bill
that would require the agency
to produce a Safety Fitness
Determination rule by De-
cember and a final electronic
logging device mandate rule
by Jan. 30.
Teamsters President James
P. Hoffa penned a letter
asking the House not to add
amendments to its DOT
funding bill that would "delay,
revise or replace" the 34-hour
restart rules.
Hoffa pointed to the June
7 truck crash involving actor
Tracy Morgan as evidence to
keep the current rules, saying
the crash "could have been
prevented had Walmart's driv-
er been properly rested."
ATA President Bill Graves
said the 2013 restart rules ac-
tually decrease safety, as they
alter "driver sleep patterns
and [put] more trucks on
the road during more risky
daylight hours."
Noting that the driver in the
Morgan crash, Kevin Roper,
hadn't slept in more than 24
hours but had taken the proper
amount of time off duty,
Graves said there's no way the
industry or government can
"dictate what drivers do during
that off-duty period."
Roper pleaded not guilty to
charges of vehicular homicide
and assault by auto.
The National Transporta-
tion Safety Board's prelimi-
nary report determined that
Roper was traveling 20 mph
over the posted 45 mph speed
limit, but that he was within
hours of service limits.
– James Jaillet
Logbook_0714.indd 15 6/26/14 9:37 PM
