Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/339485
14 COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | JULY 2014 JOURNAL NEWS T he Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association last month sent U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx a letter asking for Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Administrator Anne Ferro to resign and for Foxx to begin searching for a new administrator immediately. In the three-page letter signed by OOIDA President Jim Johnston, the association says Ferro has a "clear bias against truckers and the trucking indus- try" and that the agency "can no lon- ger perform its regulatory and enforce- ment duties impartially." The group also accuses Ferro of violating federal laws that pro- hibit federally appropriated money to be used for lobbying purposes. The letter – and the claims about lobbying law violations – stem from a post published by Ferro June 3 in DOT's Fast Lane blog in which she asked Congress not to roll back the hours-of-service rule changes imple- mented July 2013. In the blog post, Ferro writes about three deadly crashes that she says point to the need for the more prohibi- tive HOS rule. She also backs up her agency's rule change by saying it was research-driven and by tossing out the figures the agency's used from the beginning to justify the rule: 19 saved lives annually and 1,400 fewer crashes each year. OOIDA says Ferro's blog post illus- trates an "extreme bias against the truck- ing industry and truckers in general." "The tone of this blog posting leads professional truck drivers to conclude that the Administrator feels they are actively seeking to cause accidents (or at the very least lack a commitment to safety) by opposing specific changes to the hours-of-service regulations. Such comments coming from the Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, which are obviously intended to influence legisla- tive efforts, are totally inappropriate and should not be tolerated." OOIDA writes that its board of direc- tors voted unanimously to call for Ferro's resignation. The association says in addition to what it refers to as "dema- goguery against truck drivers," FMCSA has continued to act quickly on larger >05;,9á- CRITICAL LOAD -YVTá-[V á-PUNWO 66% reduction in PM emissions 29% reduction in CO Fuel savings of .84 gph on every start* Full equipment readiness in the coldest climates D5 Espar Heaters: They Just Make Sense www.espar.com (800) 387- 4800 * PRE-HEAT 0+3,-9,, ;96<)3,-9,, áF áF -PLSK;LZ[+H[H-HPYIHURZ(SHZRH-LIY\HY`/`KYVUPJ+/LH[LY9\UUPUN;PTL7YL/LH[TPU\[LZ TPU\[LZ;LZ[ZJVUK\J[LKI`(1,UNPULLYPUN*VYW,UNPUL!;YV`403J\PU )HZLKVUHNHSSVU Text INFO to 205-289-3554 or visit www.ccjdigital.com/info OOIDA demands Ferro's resignation