Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/757641
28 | Overdrive | December 2016 W ithin a week of Donald Trump's election as president, at least one online petition sought to rally tens of thousands of truckers to urge Washington's fresh leadership to "deregulate the trucking industry." The petition's creators, driver job application website TruckingUnlimit- ed, intended to file the document with Trump's GreatAgain.gov website, should it reach 100,000 signatures. At press time, it had more than 50,000 signatures, its creators said. While the petition's potential influ- ence is unknown, its requests are specific reforms most truckers strongly support: blocking the federal government's elec- tronic logging device mandate before its December 2017 compliance date, loos- ening hours of service regulations and delaying emissions regulations targeting heavy-duty trucks. Opportunities for trucking regulatory reform do exist, say trucking trade asso- ciations and analysts, but not to the ex- tent some may hope. On a broader note, industry lobbyists hope Trump forces the U.S. Department of Transportation to overhaul the way its Federal Motor Car- rier Safety Administration develops new trucking regulations and have the agency build better relations with the industry it regulates. "We're all going to find out if Trump and the Republicans can deliver," says Joe Rajkovacz, director of governmen- tal affairs for the Western States Truck- ing Association. "FMCSA positions on many issues are politically influenced. It is now time for Republicans to reverse FMCSA's adversarial relationship with the trucking industry. The FAA (Fed- eral Aviation Administration) doesn't approach the airline industry as the 'enemy of the state.' " Rajkovacz, a former owner-operator, says his group wants Trump to sign ex- ecutive orders to "significantly beef up" how FMCSA determines the perceived benefits of its regulations. WSTA hopes the new administration places a greater emphasis on results-based regulations than previous administrations, he says. "When it comes to DOT, they always couch everything from a safety perspec- tive, but then there is no retrospective review to find out if their regulations actually achieved what they originally claimed in the first place," Rajkovacz says. The American Trucking Associations also plans to urge the Trump admin- istration to push FMCSA toward "a more inclusive and data-driven regula- tory process," says Bill Sullivan, ATA's executive vice president for advocacy. "One focused on good, sound safety and economic outcomes, rather than a process that drafts regulatory solutions in search of problems." Opportunities also exist for derailing efforts by states, notably California, to regulate truckers and carriers. This would include "things like pre-empting the patchwork of state-level regulations on the trucking industry, such as state meal and rest break rules or unwinding other labor-related rules," Sullivan says. Republican control in Washington gives the industry hope for a loosened, more accountable regulatory environment and major infrastructure spending BY JAMES JAILLET TRUCKING UNDER TRUMP President-elect Trump has called for greater spending on highways and bridges, but OOIDA warns that his push for greater private investment in infrastructure could lead to more tolls. Trump's pick for DOT Secretary, Elaine Chao, is considered to have experience that will help guide major investments in U.S. infrastructure.