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CAPITOL RECAP The FMCSA’s May 14 notice requests comments on a second pilot program to allow nonmilitary drivers ages 18-20 to operate CMVs in interstate commerce. When it requested comments on the pilot involving military drivers, the FMCSA received 67 comments to the docket, 18 of which asked the agency to expand the current pilot program or initiate a new one specifically for younger drivers to operate in the agricultural sector. The request for comments comes just over two months after companion bills were introduced in the House of Representatives and the Senate called the “Developing Responsible Individuals for a Vibrant Economy Act” (DRIVE-Safe Act), which proposes to lower the age requirement for interstate drivers to 18 as long as the younger drivers participate in an apprenticeship program that includes separate 120- hour and 280-hour probationary periods, during which younger drivers would operate CMVs under the supervision of an experienced driver and must achieve specific performance benchmarks before advancing. Younger drivers would also drive vehicles equipped with active braking collision mitigation systems, forward-facing video event capture and speed limiters set to 65 miles per hour. Similar legislation was introduced in the last Congress, but never made it out of committee. FMCSA requests comments on the training, qualifications, driving limitations, and vehicle safety systems that FMCSA should consider in developing options or approaches for the possible second pilot program for younger drivers. The request from comments on the all-encompassing pilot program suggests the need for answers to several questions: • What data are currently available on the safety performance of 18- to 20-year-old drivers operating CMVs in intrastate commerce? • Are there concerns about obtaining insurance coverage for drivers under 21 who operate CMVs in intrastate commerce, and would these challenges be greater for interstate operations? • What is the minimum driving experience that should be required for a driver to be admitted to a pilot? • Should there be a requirement for experience driving noncommercial vehicles (e.g., to hold a regular driver’s license for some minimum period of time)? • Should there be a requirement for experience driving a CMV in intrastate commerce for some minimum amount of time? If so, what should that amount be and how should it be measured (e.g., time with a CDL, hours driven, vehicle miles traveled) and why? • Is there a minimum amount of time a younger driver should be required to hold a CLP or CDL? If so, how long and why? Are there driver training topics that should be required for younger drivers beyond those covered in the ELDT final rule? If so, what are they and why? • Should younger drivers have more limited hours of service, such as a maximum of eight hours of driving each day? If so, what limits should be applied and why? BREAKING DOWN AUTOMATED BARRIERS The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and FMCSA have issued advance notices of proposed rulemaking on the removal of unnecessary regulatory barriers to the safe introduction of automated driving system (ADS) vehicles in the United States. NHTSA and FMCSA are seeking comments at this stage to ensure that all potential approaches are fully considered as the agencies move forward with these regulatory actions. The ANPRM released by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration seeks public comment on questions regarding several key regulatory areas to better understand how changes to its rules can account for significant differences between human operators and automated vehicles. “This is the coming technology, and if science backs it and the data supports it, obviously it becomes an avenue we have to go down,” said David Heller, TCA’s vice president of government affairs. But it’s important to remember that automated technology is not going to replace drivers, he quickly added. Heller believes automated technology is so far down the road that the request for comments is just the beginning for the questions that must be asked or answered, including where, what, when and how. “And in order to get those answers, automated technology has to be tested,” he added. “And right now, there are not very many areas when they can be tested, and that’s holding up this playing field a little bit. “Everyone wants to be part of the talk about automated technology,” Heller said. “Everyone wants to be in the front of new technology that can basically revolutionize the delivery of freight across this country, and that’s the endgame,” he said. “It’s getting to the endgame that really muddies the water, things such as safety, costs, insurance, liability and cybersecurity. “All these things come into play and have to be ironed out, and we’re not even close to getting any of those answers. So, 10 TRUCKLOAD AUTHORITY | www.Truckload.org TCA 2019
seeing a contingent of automated trucks on our highways, I think we are a ways off.” NHTSA seeks comment on identifying and addressing regulatory barriers to the deployment of ADS vehicles posed by certain existing Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS). The agency said it is also interested in hearing from the public on various approaches that could be used to measure compliance with the FMVSS for vehicles without conventional controls, including steering wheels and brake pedals. Public comments received during this stage will help inform NHTSA’s path forward, the agency said. The ANPRM released by FMCSA seeks public comment on questions regarding several key regulatory areas to better understand how changes to its rules can account for significant differences between human operators and ADS. These questions focus on topics such as requirements of human drivers; CDL endorsements; Hours of Service rules; medical qualifications; distracted driving; safe driving, inspection, repair, and maintenance; roadside inspections; and cybersecurity. “Our mission is to protect Americans on our roads,” said NHTSA Deputy Administrator Heidi King. “As automated driving systems develop, NHTSA will continue to adapt to make sure the agency is equipped to ensure public safety while encouraging innovation.” “FMCSA is hoping to receive feedback from commercial motor vehicle stakeholders and the motoring public on how the agency should adapt its regulations for the development of increased automated driving systems in large trucks and buses. We know that while many of these technologies are still in development, it is critical that we carefully examine how to make federal rules keep up with this advancing technology,” said FMCSA Administrator Raymond Martinez. Deadline for comments on the NTHSA proposal is July 29. Deadline for comments on the FMCSA proposal is August 26. GAS-DIESEL FUEL TAX HIKE BILL Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., has introduced the Rebuild America Act of 2019, which would incrementally increase the federal gasoline and diesel fuel taxes to invest in America’s infrastructure. The legislation would raise the federal fuels tax by five cents a year over five years, index it to inflation, and establish Congress’ intention to replace it with a more equitable, stable source of funding within 10 years. “The gas tax was last raised more than 25 years ago, which means we are paying for our 2019 infrastructure needs with 1993 dollars. That is unacceptable,” Blumenauer said. “Our nation’s infrastructure is falling apart as we fall behind our global competitors. The cost of underinvestment falls especially hard on working families and lowincome individuals who can’t afford the cost of a blown tire or lost wages due to congestion. It is past time that we get real about funding our infrastructure needs. We can’t afford inaction any longer.” The Truckload Carriers Association is supportive of Blumenauer’s efforts. “We’d love to see it happen,” said TCA’s Vice President of Government Affairs, David Heller. “The disruptors, like the infrastructure struggle between President Donald Trump and the Democrats, are becoming more frequent and that just delays conversation about the need to raise the gas and diesel tax. A gas and diesel tax hike is the best way to sustain the Highway Trust Fund.” Making the tax self-adjusting is the right approach to take, he added. “Then you don’t have to go down this road again and have more conversations. It’s a hard conversation to have in the first place.” Where the bill goes from here is anybody’s guess. To have any chance of passage, it will have to be attached to a larger bill, such as an infrastructure bill. Once more, the Trump administration might stand in the way. Introduction of Blumenauer’s legislation followed just days after a report was published stating that the White House had been reassuring conservative leaders that it has no plans to hike the gas and diesel tax to help fund the massive infrastructure package that Trump hopes to negotiate with Congress. The report said that both acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney and Trump’s budget director, Russ Vought, have repeatedly downplayed the possibility in private meetings with fiscal conservatives who are expressing alarm that Trump might embrace a massive tax increase. Concerns have specifically centered on a potential gas tax boost, an idea that Trump has flirted with during his presidency. “It is my understanding that they are not going to be agreeing to any tax increases,” said Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist. Norquist said he has discussed the matter with White House officials, but he did not disclose specifics. He was spotted at the White House, attending a meeting with Vought in which conservative leaders discussed upcoming spending battles, according to two attendees. Blumenauer, a senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee and a longtime advocate for infrastructure investment, said the U.S. faces the largest infrastructure funding gap in the world. He said the sector with the greatest shortfall is surface transportation, which the American Society of Civil Engineers estimates needs more than $1.1 trillion of investment by 2025. Since 2010, 35 states with legislatures controlled by both parties have voted to raise their gas taxes. Inaction will cost families $3,400 in annual disposable income by 2025, whereas a 25-cent gas tax increase costs the average driver less than $3 a week and contributes nearly $400 billion toward upgrading roads, bridges and transit systems. Every $1.3 billion in infrastructure investment adds 29,000 construction jobs, yields $2 billion in economic growth, and reduces the federal deficit by $200 million. The Truckload Carriers Association is supportive of any legislation that would increase the gas and diesel fuel tax to support the Highway Trust Fund. TCA 2019 www.Truckload.org | TRUCKLOAD AUTHORITY 11
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Page 6 and 7: JULY/AUGUST | TCA 2019 Legislative
Page 8 and 9: Shuster released an infrastructure
Page 12 and 13: CAPITOL RECAP DANGERS OF SPEEDING A
Page 14 and 15: JULY/AUGUST | TCA 2019 Tracking The
Page 16 and 17: “Wall Street to me was profession
Page 18 and 19: Settling at Forecast for trucking:
Page 20 and 21: JULY/AUGUST | TCA 2019 A Chat With
Page 22 and 23: Sponsored by Mcleod software McLeod
Page 28 and 29: JULY/AUGUST | TCA 2019 Talking TCA
Page 30 and 31: Vigneault spends a leisurely moment
Page 32 and 33: Talking the Talk … FMCSA’s Mart
Page 34 and 35: members contribute when they visit
Page 36 and 37: Cultural Change DE- Efforts to redu
Page 38 and 39: Those Who Deliver with Veriha Truck
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Page 42 and 43: WEIGH. PAY. GET GOING. You know you
Page 44 and 45: TALK A QUICK LOOK AT IMPORTANT TCA
Page 46 and 47: MARK YOUR CALENDAR JULY 2019 >> Jul
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