- Accelerate the 2012 congressional mandate which requires electronic logging devices (ELDs) in commercial trucks. To monitor Hours of Service (HOS) and to verify on-duty truck driving hours;
- Raise the minimum liability insurance level for trucking companies;
- Recognize hair testing to meet federal truck driver drug testing regulations;
- Keep in public view the federal government’s safety ratings (AKA CSA scores) for trucking companies;
- Support truck speed limiters (AKA speed limiter mandate) and new standards for commercial vehicle safety technologies;
- Pass long-term transportation funding that includes more money for commercial vehicle law enforcement.
Trucking Alliance Coalition - Motor Carrier Regulation Expert Witness
Founded in 2011 and headquartered in Washington DC, the Trucking Alliance is a coalition of freight transportation companies which include: Boyle Transportation, Continental Transportation, Dupre Logistics, Fikes Truck Line, J. B. Hunt Transport, Knight Transportation and Maverick USA. In addition, transportation support companies which are also part of the coalition include: Rand McNally, DriveWyze, Psychemedics, Omnitracs, and PeopleNet.
The Alliance’s mission statement is: “to advocate for a more equitable and safe working environment for commercial truck drivers.” Board of Directors of the Alliance is made up of some of the big names in the Commercial Motor Carrier space (See List Below).
The Alliance’s website indicates Chairman, Steve Williams called for Congress and the Obama Administration to do more to help the nation’s trucking industry serve the U.S. economy safely and efficiently. Further, he said: that should be the trucking industry’s message in 2015.
“The Alliance is committed to safety objectives that make sense for our country first, the trucking industry second and our companies third,” said Williams. “For example, we shouldn’t tolerate 300,000 trucking accidents that kill upwards of 4,000 people each year, and 600 of those fatalities are truck drivers. We can do more to lower risk for all motorists and help our truck drivers do their jobs and arrive home safely.”
Williams recently met with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrations (FMCSA) acting administrator, Scott Darling, U.S. Senator John Boozman (R-AR), senior staff members of the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and other transportation safety groups to share the Alliance the aforementioned objectives.
Interestingly, the Alliance is pushing for the retaining of the public view of scores in the Compliance, Safety and Accountability (CSA) program, it desires to have drug tests done via hair testing and would like to see the passage of a long-term highway funding bill that allocates more money to enforcement of trucking regulations.
These positions are controversial as they are in direct opposition of other trucking groups including the American Trucking Associations (ATA), which is headquartered in Arlington, VA and the Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) whose headquarters is located in Grain Valley, MO.
All of these organizations are interested in passing a long-term highway funding bill. However the ATA and OOIDA are against increasing the minimum amount of liability insurance required of carriers. But, the ATA and OOIDA are also pushing for the removal of CSA scores from public view. And, while the ATA is for the speed limiter mandate, the OOIDA is not.
The Trucking Alliance Board of Directors currently includes:
Reggie Dupre´
President and Chief Executive Officer
Dupre Logistics, LLC
Lafayette, LA
Craig Harper
Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President
J.B. Hunt Transport
Lowell, AR
Kevin Knight
Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Executive Committee
Knight Transportation
Phoenix, Az
Steve Williams (Trucking Alliance Chairman)
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Maverick USA
North Little Rock, AR
Andrew Boyle
Executive Vice President
Boyle Transportation, Inc.
Billerica, MA
Dean Newell
Vice President of Safety & Driver Training
Maverick USA
North Little Rock, AR
Gary Salisbury
President and CEO
Fikes Truck Line, Inc.
Hope, AR
Brett Sant
Vice President of Safety & Risk Management
Knight Transportation
Phoenix, Az
Greer Woodruff
Vice President of Safety and Security
J.B. Hunt Transport
Lowell , AR
Lane Kidd
Managing Director
The Kidd Group LLC
(A Lobbying Group)
Washington, DC
We will see how things turn out as they continue to battle it out.