This quote from the late great Yogi Berra sums up the safety fight that is still going on right now in Congress as the House and Senate wrap up negotiations on the FY2016 annual spending bill, also known as the “omnibus spending bill”. Special trucking interests have pursued a dual strategy of pushing anti-truck safety provisions in the recent surface transportation funding bill, the FAST Act, H.R. 22, signed into law on Friday and the annual DOT spending bill. There are still major assaults on truck safety at stake that will be decided this week as House and Senate leaders wrap up negotiations. None of these anti-safety measures was subject to any congressional hearing, any review by the U.S. Department of Transportation or any public input, yet, if enacted will have a major and deadly impact on safety. The FY2016 transportation appropriations bill passed by the House on June 9, 2015 and the version passed out of the Senate Appropriations Committee on June 25, 2015 include provisions mandating every state allow monster-sized trucks pulling Double 33’ trailers, a dramatic increase in truck driver work and driving hours, and a roadblock to an overdue rulemaking on minimum insurance requirements for motor carriers.
Trucking interests are counting on back room negotiations and behind the scenes deal-making to get their safety rollbacks. Safety groups, truck crash victims, law enforcement, state officials, truck drivers, rail labor, regional railroads and others are still working to stop the assault.
On Friday, organizations sent the letter below urging:
– NO Double 33’ Trailer Trucks: Last month the Senate voted twice to stop this deadly proposal which would force states to allow these trucks which are the size of 8-story office buildings on their roads. There has been no evaluation of their safety and infrastructure damage implications, no Congressional hearings, and no input from the states which will be forced to pick up the bill for resultant damages. The public strongly opposes being forced to drive next to Double 33s (see public opinion poll in letter).
–NO Extension of the Tired Trucker Provision: The truck crash caused by an overly fatigued truck driver that seriously injured Tracy Morgan and killed James McNair happened a year and a half ago today. That crash is just one of the numerous crashes that occur because truck drivers are being pushed beyond their limits to drive up to 82 hours in a week. Truck driver fatigue is a deadly, yet preventable, public health problem. The Obama Administration rule which gives truck drivers a “weekend off” should be reinstated.
–NO Special Interest Exemptions from Truck Size and Weight Limits.
–YES to Accepting the Increased Funding Levels for the Vehicle Safety Programs of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA): Countless Congressional hearings on record number of vehicle recalls these past two years as well as the unacceptable deaths and injuries caused by cover-ups of deadly GM ignition switches and exploding Takata airbags pointed to the lack of adequate financial and staff resources at the agency responsible for overseeing and regulating the auto industry.
We hope you will continue to cover these critically important issues. Please call if you would like additional information or to schedule an interview.
Thank you, Cathy
Catherine Chase
Vice President, Governmental Affairs
Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety
750 First Street, NE
Suite 1130
Washington, DC 20002
(C) 571-243-7282
December 4, 2015
Dear Republican and Democratic Leaders of the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations:
We are writing to urge you to oppose provisions in the FY2016 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) Appropriations bills (H.R. 2577) that rollback truck safety regulations and jeopardize the safety of truck drivers and the public. None of these provisions has been subject to congressional hearings by the authorizing committees of jurisdiction and should be stripped from the FY2016 omnibus spending bill especially at a time when truck crash deaths and injuries are climbing. These dangerous policy changes benefit special interests and include a controversial mandate that all states be forced to accept longer and more dangerous double 33’ trailer trucks when the Senate has rejected this proposal in two bi-partisan votes; longer working and driving hours for truck drivers when fatigue is already a major problem in the industry; and, special interest exemptions to truck size and weight laws.
Furthermore, yesterday the House and Senate overwhelmingly passed the FAST Act, H.R. 22, which increases the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) authorization levels for vehicle safety programs to $179 million. Twelve congressional hearings in the past two years have revealed serious vehicle safety defects and auto industry misbehavior. A major factor in NHTSA’s shortcomings in identifying, investigating and acting on deadly defects that have killed and maimed hundreds is the insufficient agency resources needed to effectively oversee the auto industry. Providing adequate funding and staff resources is critical to solving many of the identified problems. We urge you to fully fund NHTSA’s vehicle safety programs at this level in the appropriations bill.
Stop Efforts by FedEx and Other Corporate Trucking Giants to Force Longer Trucks on Roads in Every State
A major national policy change to allow Double 33’ trailer trucks on our nation’s highways being pushed by a few select trucking companies would override states’ rights, jeopardize safety and damage our nation’s already-crumbling infrastructure. An amendment offered by Senators Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) that would require the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to study the safety of Double 33s is a commonsense alternative and we strongly support its inclusion in an overall funding bill.
The public strongly opposes allowing oversized trucks on our roads and highways. An independent public opinion poll by ORC International conducted last month found that more than 3 out of 4 Americans (77%) opposed Double 33s.
Reject Yet Another Effort for Trucking Interests to Rollback the HOS Rule
Truck driver fatigue is a major safety problem that has severe consequences as demonstrated by crashes such as the one that killed comedian James McNair and seriously injured Tracy Morgan. A provision originally slipped into last year’s “Cromnibus” rolls back important and commonsense safety reforms to hours of service rules and significantly increases the working and driving hours for truck drivers from 70 to 82. Once again, the public is adamantly against increasing truck driver working and driving hours as shown in a 2014 survey by Lake Research Partners wherein 80% of respondents opposed Congress raising the number of hours a semi-truck driver is allowed to work in a week. The so-called “Collins Amendment” language should not be extended by burdening the on-going DOT study with new and needless requirements.
Oppose Special Interest Exemptions to Federal Truck Size and Weight Limits
Special interest truck size and weight exemptions for certain states and industries represent “earmarks” and impose a cost that is ultimately passed on to all American taxpayers who foot the bill for infrastructure damage and repairs. Bigger trucks are bigger safety problems and impose bigger damage on roads and bridges. Currently 32% of America’s major roads are in poor or mediocre condition and 25% of our bridges are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete. A January 2015 poll by Harper Polling found that 76% of the public opposes longer and heavier trucks on the highways.
Fund NHTSA’s Motor Vehicle Safety Programs at the Authorized Level in the FAST Act
NHTSA’s funding and staffing levels have suffered over the years. Today, 95 percent of transportation-related fatalities and 99 percent of transportation injuries occur on our streets and highways and yet, NHTSA receives only one percent of the overall U.S. DOT budget. NHTSA is responsible for the safety of over 316 million Americans who drive or ride in or are around more than 269 million registered motor vehicles. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for all Americans ages five to 24, and the second leading cause of death among adults 25 to 34 years of age. By any measure motor vehicle deaths and injuries are a major and costly public health epidemic. In order to advance safety gains and improve the agency’s effectiveness in detecting, investigating and solving safety threats as well as meeting new expected challenges, an increase in funding is essential and justified for NHTSA. We urge you to fully fund NHTSA’s vehicle safety programs at the $179 million level agreed to in the FAST Act.
As you move forward with negotiations on an omnibus bill, we urge you to only include measures that will advance safety and not the agenda of special interests.
Sincerely,
Jacqueline Gillan, President James P. Hoffa, General President
Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety International Brotherhood of Teamsters
Joan Claybrook, Chair John Risch, National Legislative Director
Citizens for Reliable and Safe Highways and SMART-TD (UTU)
Former Administrator, National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration Andrew McGuire, Executive Director
Trauma Foundation
Jack Gillis, Director of Public Affairs
Consumer Federation of America Clarence Ditlow, Executive Director
Center for Auto Safety
John Lannen, Executive Director
Truck Safety Coalition (TSC) Steve Owings, Co-Founder
Road Safe America
Janette E. Fennell, Founder & President
KidsAndCars.org
Daphne Izer, Founder
Lisbon, ME
Parents Against Tired Truckers (PATT)
Mother of Jeff Izer, Killed in a truck crash 10/10/93
Jane Mathis
St. Augustine, FL
Vice President, TSC; Board Member, PATT
Member, Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee
Mother of David Mathis
Mother-in-Law of Mary Kathryn Mathis
Killed in a truck crash 3/25/04
Dawn King
Davisburg, MI
President, Truck Safety Coalition
Board Member, Citizens for Reliable and Safe
Highways (CRASH)
Daughter of Bill Badger
Killed in truck crash 12/23/04
Russ Swift
Port St. Lucie, FL
Co-chair, Parents Against Tired Truckers
Father of Jasen Swift
Killed in a truck crash 10/14/93
Linda Wilburn
Weatherford, OK
Board Member, PATT
Mother of Orbie Wilburn
Killed in a truck crash 9/2/02
Tami Friedrich Trakh
Corona, CA
Board Member, CRASH
Member, MCSAC
Sister of Kris Mercurio, Sister-in-Law of Alan Mercurio, Aunt of Brandie Rooker & Anthony Mercurio
Killed in a truck crash 12/27/89
Larry Liberatore
Severn, MD
Board Member, PATT
Father of Nick Liberatore
Killed in a truck crash 6/9/97
Marc Johnson
Hartwell, GA
Volunteer, Truck Safety Coalition
Brother of Curt Johnson
Killed in truck crash 10/1/2009
Vickie Johnson
Hartwell, GA
Volunteer, Truck Safety Coalition
Wife of Curt Johnson, Step-mother of Crystal Johnson
Killed in a truck crash 10/1/2009
Beth Badger
Columbus, GA
Volunteer, Truck Safety Coalition
Daughter of Bill Badger
Killed in truck crash 12/23/04
Kathleen Laubach
Reno, NV
Volunteer, Truck Safety Coalition
Truck Crash Survivor
Vincent Laubach
Reno, NV
Volunteer, Truck Safety Coalition
Truck Crash Survivor
Lisa Shrum
Fayette, MO
Volunteer, Truck Safety Coalition
Daughter of Virginia Baker, Step-daughter of Randy Baker
Killed in a truck crash 10/10/06
Tina Silva
Ontario, CA
Volunteer, Truck Safety Coalition
Sister of Kris Mercurio, Sister-in-Law of Alan Mercurio, Aunt of Brandie Rooker & Anthony Mercurio
Killed in a truck crash 12/27/89
Bruce King
Davisburg, MI
Volunteer, Truck Safety Coalition
Son-in-law of Bill Badger
Killed in truck crash 12/23/04
Laurie Higginbotham
Memphis, TN
Volunteers, Truck Safety Coalition
Mother of Michael Higginbotham
Killed in a truck crash, 11/18/14
Randall Higginbotham
Memphis, TN
Volunteers, Truck Safety Coalition
Father of Michael Higginbotham
Killed in a truck crash, 11/18/14
Ed Slattery
Lutherville, MD
Board Member, PATT
Volunteer, Truck Safety Coalition
Husband of Susan Slattery
Killed in a truck crash 8/16/10
Sons Matthew & Peter Slattery critically injured
Kate Brown
Gurnee, IL
Volunteer, Truck Safety Coalition
Mother of Graham Brown
Injured in a truck crash 5/2/05
Ron Wood
Washington, D.C.
Volunteer, Truck Safety Coalition
Son of Betsy Wood, Brother of Lisa Wood Martin, Uncle of Chance, Brock, and Reid Martin
Killed in a truck crash 9/20/04
Gary Wilburn
Weatherford, OK
Volunteer, Truck Safety Coalition
Father of Orbie Wilburn
Killed in a truck crash 9/2/02
Henry Steck
Homer, NY
Volunteer, Truck Safety Coalition
Melissa Gouge
Washington, D.C.
Volunteer, Truck Safety Coalition
Cousin of Amy Corbin
Killed in a truck crash 8/18/97
Cindy Southern
Cleveland, TN
Volunteer, Truck Safety Coalition
Wife of James Whitaker, sister-in-law Anthony Hixon and aunt of Amber Hixon
Killed in a truck crash 9/18/09
Kim Telep
Harrisburg, PA
Volunteer, Truck Safety Coalition
Wife of Bradley Telep
Killed in a truck crash 8/29/12
Alan Dana
Plattsburgh, NY
Volunteer, Truck Safety Coalition
Son of Janet Dana, Uncle of Caitlyn & Lauryn Dana, Brother-in-law of Laurie Dana
Killed in a truck crash 7/19/12
Amy Fletcher
Perrysburg, OH
Volunteer, Truck Safety Coalition
Wife of John Fletcher
Killed in a truck crash 1/24/12
Steve Izer
Lisbon, ME
Board Member, PATT
Father of Jeff Izer
Killed in a truck crash 10/10/93
Jennifer Tierney
Kernersville, NC
Board Member, CRASH
Member, MCSAC
Daughter of James Mooney
Killed in a truck crash 9/20/83
Nancy Meuleners
Bloomington, MN
Volunteer, Truck Safety Coalition
Injured in a truck crash 12/19/89
Paul Badger
Davidson, NC
Son of Bill Badger
Killed in truck crash 12/23/04
Marianne Karth
Rocky Mount, NC
Volunteer, Truck Safety Coalition
Founder, AnnaLeah & Mary for Truck Safety
Mother of AnnaLeah and Mary Karth
Killed in a truck crash 5/4/13
Jerry Karth
Rocky Mount, NC
Volunteer, Truck Safety Coalition
Founder, AnnaLeah & Mary for Truck Safety
Father of AnnaLeah and Mary Karth
Killed in a truck crash 5/4/13
Frank Wood
Falls Church, VA
Volunteer, Truck Safety Coalition
Father of Dana Wood
Killed in a truck crash 10/15/02
Marchelle Wood
Falls Church, VA
Volunteer, Truck Safety Coalition
Mother of Dana Wood
Killed in a truck crash 10/15/02
Jackie Novak
Hendersonville, NC
Volunteer, Truck Safety Coalition
Mother of Charles “Chuck” Novak
Killed in a truck crash 10/24/10
Julie Branon Magnan
South Burlington, VT
Volunteer, Truck Safety Coalition
Injured in a truck crash 01/31/02
Wife of David Magnan
Killed in a truck crash 01/31/02
Christina Mahaney
Jackman, ME
Volunteer, Truck Safety Coalition
Injured in a truck crash 7/19/2011
Mother of Liam Mahaney
Killed in a truck crash 7/19/2011
Sandra Lance
Chesterfield, VA
Volunteer, Truck Safety Coalition
Mother of Kristen Belair
Killed in a truck crash 8/26/2009
Debra Cruz
Harlingen, TX
Volunteer, Truck Safety Coalition
Injured in a truck crash 8/8/2008
Bernadette Fox
Davis, CA
Volunteer, Truck Safety Coalition
Best friend of Daniel McGuire
Killed in a truck crash 7/10/2014
Warren Huffman
Odessa, MI
Volunteer, Truck Safety Coalition
Brother of Tim Huffman
Killed in a truck crash 5/6/13
Tammy Huffman
Odessa, MI
Volunteer, Truck Safety Coalition
Sister-in-law of Tim Huffman
Killed in a truck crash 5/6/13
Wanda Lindsay
New Braunfels, TX
Volunteer, Truck Safety Coalition
Wife of John Lindsay
Killed in a truck crash 5/7/10
Tom Lindsay
Carrollton, KY
Volunteer, Truck Safety Coalition
Son of John Lindsay
Killed in a truck crash 5/7/10
Ashley McMillan
Memphis, TN
Volunteers, Truck Safety Coalition
Girlfriend of Michael Higginbotham
Killed in a truck crash, 11/18/14
Michelle Novak
Delevan, NY
Volunteer, Truck Safety Coalition
Aunt of Charles “Chuck” Novak
Killed in a truck crash 10/24/10
John Ramsey
Edneyville, NC
Volunteer, Truck Safety Coalition
