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BY LYNDON FINNEY & LINDA GARNER-BUNCH While the aftermath of the general election and Joe Biden securing the presidency have taken the spotlight, trucking news continues to come out of the nation’s capital. This is highlighted by the release of the Federal Highway Administration’s updated version of its Jason’s Law truck parking survey that offered a picture of the status of what drivers say — based on a survey published in October — is the top concern among their ranks. Additionally, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has solidified a final rule clarifying agricultural commodity and livestock definitions in hours-of-service regulations, while the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s report on Brake Safety Week showed 12% of the 43,565 commercial motor vehicles inspected were placed out of service. Despite the need for parking and reports of operating over capacity, 79% of truck stop respondents in the most recent Jason’s Law survey said they do not plan to add more truck parking. FHWA RELEASES UPDATED JASON’S LAW PARKING SURVEY The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) recently released an updated version of its Jason’s Law truck parking survey that offered a picture of the status of what drivers ranked — based on a survey published in October — as their top concern. The report revealed new statistics but no real solutions. According to the latest Jason’s Law survey, there are about 313,000 truck parking spaces across the nation, including 40,000 at public rest areas and 273,000 at private truck stops, an increase of 6% and 11% between 2014 and 2019, respectively. The survey report found new shortages among the entire Interstate 95 corridor, Pacific corridors, and states surrounding the Chicago region, as well as other major freight corridors. Not many new parking areas are being developed, the report said, because of challenges in planning and funding. Some states reported fewer public spaces compared with 2014. Among them were Arizona, Colorado, Kentucky, Mississippi, New Jersey, New Mexico, South Dakota, Utah, and Washington state. On the other hand, Delaware, Florida, and Tennessee all showed increases in the number of parking spaces available. Of the nearly 11,700 truck drivers participating in the survey — a 43% increase from the first Jason’s Law survey — 98% reported problems finding safe parking. Issues with truck parking were reported in every state and region. According to the survey, the highest rate of parking issues was found along major freight corridors in states along Interstate 95, the Chicago region, and Interstate 5 in California. Time frames when truck parking is most difficult to find include at night from 4 p.m. to 5 a.m., during the week Monday through Thursday, and in the colder months of October through February. Among the other findings based on driver responses, it was noted that drivers need a variety of parking types; design is important in truck parking; safety and security is valued; public rest area closures present challenges; receivers should offer parking on site; and truck spaces need to be reserved for trucks. State commercial motor vehicle (CMV) safety agencies show the states with the highest rate of unofficial or unauthorized truck parking are typically those with major freight-generating areas, major ports, and intermodal facilities. California, Florida, Texas, and Illinois are among the states with high numbers of unauthorized parking, the report said. According to the survey results, most of the unauthorized truck parking occurs on ramps (58%) and shoulders (34%), most often between 7 p.m. and 9 a.m. CMV safety agency respondents reported that unauthorized truck parking is related to limited spaces and inclement weather, especially SEE PARKING, PAGE 9 8 TRUCKLOAD AUTHORITY | www.Truckload.org TCA 2021
LIVESTOCK, AGRICULTURE DEFINITIONS PUBLISHED The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has published a final rule clarifying agricultural commodities and livestock definitions in hours-of-service (HOS) regulations. The agency said it had worked closely with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on the rule in an effort to provide clarity for the nation’s farmers and commercial drivers. “The agriculture industry is vital to our nation, and this new rule will provide clarity and offer additional flexibility to farmers and commercial drivers, while maintaining the highest level of safety,” said the U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine L. Chao. Currently, during harvesting and planting seasons as determined by each state, drivers transporting agricultural commodities, including livestock, are exempt from HOS requirements The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has published a final rule clarifying agricultural commodities and livestock definitions in hours-of-service regulations. from the source of the commodities to a location within a 150-air-mile radius from the source. The agricultural commodity rulemaking from FMCSA was prompted by indications that the current definition of these terms may not be understood or enforced consistently when determining whether the HOS exemption applies. “I applaud Secretary Chao for recognizing these obstacles and working with USDA to come up with common sense definitions for agricultural commodities and livestock that meet both the needs of agricultural haulers and public safety — critical concerns for all of trucking,” said Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue. FMCSA published an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking in July 2019 to solicit feedback from the agriculture community. Based on a review of public comments, FMCSA published the new rule to clarify SEE AGRICULTURE, PAGE 10 DOES CALIFORNIA VOTE EXEMPT TRUCKERS FROM AB5? Proposition 22, which was designed to push back against AB5 in California for independent contractor drivers such as those at Uber or Lyft, passed comfortably in the November 3 general election. The role of AB5 in trucking in California remains in the balance as a federal appeals court considers a challenge to an earlier and ongoing preliminary injunction that cited a 90s-era federal law — the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act — as effectively blocking the provisions of AB5 in the trucking sector. Oral arguments in the appeal were heard in early September. The California proposition that was approved at the polls took ride-share drivers out of the state’s AB5 law. This should be a factor in whether the trucking industry remains exempt from it as well, according to a lawyer involved in key litigation. In a letter to the court, the attorney for the California Trucking Association (CTA), which brought the original lawsuit, said the victory of Proposition 22 takes a further whack at the idea that AB5 is a law of “general applicability.” Mayer Brown Attorney Andrew Tauber said AB5 is not a law of general applicability. It contains numerous exceptions for numerous industries and professions.” — ANDREW TAUBER MAYER BROWN ATTORNEY AB5 was never a law of general applicability, which would cover a broad swath of economic activity. The CTA’s argument is that it was always targeted toward trucking, as well as ridesharing, and is even more so with the success of Proposition 22. Tauber noted that the original AB5 had several exemptions for various industries. That list of employee classifications grew with additional exemptions passed in September. “Now AB5 has been amended yet again and once again rendered even less generally applicable than before,” Tauber wrote in the letter to the court. “After passage of Proposition 22, AB5 is not a generally applicable law — not even in the transportation industry, much less more broadly.” According to published reports, in his arguments before the appeals court Tauber said the state of California — which is the CTA’s opponent in the case — had argued that AB5 can’t be preempted by F4A because it is a law of general applicability. In his arguments before the court, Tauber had described that as a “false characterization.” “AB5 is not a law of general applicability,” he argued. “It contains numerous exceptions for numerous industries and professions.” Further, he said, “it specifically targets the trucking industry.” This was Tauber’s second letter to the court about the matter. After the California legislature significantly widened the number of jobs that were performed by independent contractors that could be exempted from AB5, Tauber told the court that “truck drivers are notably absent from the long list of professions exempt from the ABC test under California law.” That omission, he said, helped make the argument that AB5 is a targeted piece of legislation and is not a law of general applicability. PARKING, FROM PAGE 8 snowstorms in the Rocky Mountain states. Illegal parking also occurs when trucks park to stage while waiting for deliveries. Based on that information, FHWA claims dynamic messaging signs and other technologies are needed to send out information about parking availability. Truck stop owners also participated in the 2019 Jason’s Law survey. According to the survey, more than 87% of identified truck parking is at private truck stops. The average number of truck parking spaces per truck stop is 143 spaces. Truck stops reported being over 100% capacity overnight, on weekdays, and from May to October. Nearly three-quarters do not monitor parking. Those that do monitor spaces do so manually. More than threequarters of truck stop respondents do not offer reservations, and 75% do not charge for parking. Of those that do charge for parking, 3% waive the fee for drivers who buy amenities or food. Despite the need for parking and reports of operating over capacity, 79% of truck stop respondents said they do not plan to add more truck parking. Jason’s Law is named in memory of professional truck driver Jason Rivenburg who was murdered for $7 while parked overnight at an abandoned gas station. TCA 2021 www.Truckload.org | TRUCKLOAD AUTHORITY 9
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