CCJ

March 2017

Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal

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LEADING NEWS, TRUCKING MARKET CONDITIONS AND INDUSTRY ANALYSIS Carriers again push for hair drug testing A group of large carriers have joined to file a request with the U.S. Department of Transportation to allow them to drug-test drivers exclusively via hair sample in lieu of the traditional and federally required urine sample test. The carriers — J.B. Hunt (CCJ Top 250, No. 6), Schneider (No. 8), Werner (No. 11), Knight (No. 24), Maverick Transportation (No. 76) and Dupre Logistics (No. 128) — make up the Trucking Alliance, a carrier advocacy group. Carriers that want to drug-test drivers via hair sample now must perform both the hair test and the urine analysis, which the Alliance says is costly and unnecessary. The Trucking Alliance petitioned the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration in October to immediately allow hair sample tests to satisfy federal drug test - ing requirements, as stipulated by the 2015 FAST Act that allows the agency to accept hair tests after the Department of Health and Human Services establishes federal guide - lines. The FAST Act required HHS to develop the guidelines by Dec. 5, 2016, a deadline it failed to meet. To comment, go to Regulations. gov and search Docket No. FMCSA- 2017-0002. – James Jaillet Speed limiter mandate, emissions regs part of lawsuit against Trump A lawsuit filed in federal court last month seeks to block an executive order from President Trump directing federal agencies to repeal two existing regulations for each new one enacted. Plaintiffs cite truck safety rules, including the proposed speed limiter mandate and federal truck emissions standards, as rea- sons why they want the court to issue an injunction against the order. Public Citizen, the Natural Resources Defense Council and a branch of the AFL-CIO filed the suit Feb. 8, naming Trump, the U.S. government and new U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, among a list of other executive branch employ- ees, as defendants in the case. The plaintiffs argue Trump exceeded constitutional authority with the order and that it will prompt agencies to slash rules meant to protect workers, the public and the environment. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said during his daily press briefing Feb. 8 that the order is meant to ensure regulations already on the books "are meeting their intent and not stifling job creation at the extent of whatever they were intended to do." Specifically cited in the lawsuit is a September-proposed rule from the U.S. Department of Transportation to require heavy-duty trucks to use speed governors to cap speeds at either 60, 65 or 68 mph. It's yet unclear whether DOT under Trump will continue to pursue the speed lim- iter mandate, two-for-one order aside. Joe Rajkovacz, head of regulatory affairs for the Western States Trucking Associations, said Trump's regulatory policies are likely the "death knell" for the speed limiter mandate. The Feb. 8 lawsuit against Trump's order also claims the two-for-one proposi- tion jeopardizes emissions regulations that plaintiffs say protect public health and the environment. Critics of the executive order argue it could create scenarios in which federal agen- cies might be forced to choose between two con- sumer- and public-protecting regulations. Some also have questioned the logistics of the two-out one-in policy. Federal law could require a public notice and comment period for regulations being repealed, which will make the process stickier than simply nixing regulations at agencies' whims. – James Jaillet Scan the QR code with your smartphone or visit ccjdigital.com/ news/subscribe-to- newsletters to sign up for the CCJ Daily Report, a daily e-mail newslet- ter filled with news, analysis, blogs and market condition articles. It's yet unclear whether DOT under Trump will continue to pursue the speed limiter mandate. The carriers argue that hair test- ing is more reliable than federally required urine sample tests in detecting prior drug use. 8 commercial carrier journal | march 2017

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