Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/723417
32 | Overdrive | September 2016 THE BIGGEST LITTLE VOICE IN TRUCKING Among those against speed limiters are most Overdrive readers and the Own- er-Operator Independent Drivers Associ- ation. They have long picked a bone over the well-documented safety problems created by forcing trucks to drive slower than surrounding traffic and by remov- ing the ability to accelerate beyond a governed speed in dangerous situations that may require it. Another problem is the associated costs, which must be considered in any new rule of economic significance. The official estimated cost of speed limiter technology in the recently released pro- posed rule ranges from $200 million to $1.5 billion worth of productivity losses, based on a speed setting range from 68-60 mph. FMCSA says such costs are fully offset by fuel savings alone. Todd Spencer, executive vice president of OOIDA, views groups' advocacy for technological mandates as an economic power play to put an extra burden on trucking's smaller entities. CRASH may not get its support from the railroad lobby anymore, but "they figured out a long time ago that there were entities within trucking that would create more economic issues for small truckers than the railroad ever could," Spencer says. "Virtually all of the regs frustrating many drivers right now, you can point to big truckers as the proponents." Requiring ELDs is a prime example. Many larger carriers joined the call to mandate the devices, and large carriers were the first to invest in them. Owings also has been an advocate, echoed in his position by ATA again and other advoca- cy groups. FMCSA estimated $1.84 billion in costs for the devices themselves and costs related to driver training and recruiting. That was partly offset by a crash-reduc- tion benefit that the agency estimates to be $570 million. In its ongoing ELD lawsuit, OOIDA vigorously disputes that and other elements of the agency's cost-benefit assessment. PATT/CRASH seem to have learned from Owings the value of finding trucking partners. After establishing a "Distinguished Safety Leadership" Award in 2010, PATT/CRASH's most recent award, announced in May, went to Senior Vice President Greer Woodruff of J.B. Hunt, in part for the carrier's side-underride prevention on trailers. In its press release, the Truck Safety Coalition mentioned future awards to be delivered to Maverick Transportation Chairman and CEO Steve Williams and CEO Reggie Dupre of Dupre Logistics. All three are members of a group of five carriers known as the Trucking Alliance, founded in 2010 and fashioning itself as "Trucking's Safety Advocate." The other two companies are Knight Overdrive: 1/2 Page 7 x 4.5 Submit: Press Quality PDF, embed images and include registration marks. • Oversize/Overweight Permits • Trip Permits • Fuel Permits Fast, Easy Permits Fast, Easy Permits Fast, Easy Permits Fast, Easy Permits Fast, Easy Permits Fast, Easy Permits • Save time and leave your permit burden to us, so you can focus on your business • One call does it all — we'll work with each state for you Order Permits Now! KellerPermits.com 800-840-3451 24 / 7 SERVICE PC 117418 Untitled-20 1 8/10/16 9:53 AM