Feds Tap the Brakes on Trucking Regulations
Economic recovery and pandemic relief upstage harsher rules on truckers, as the overall industry applauds productivity goals. In the meantime, big environmental rules loom at EPA, while one large TL carrier wants to speed up the process to obtain a Commercial Driver’s License.
However there are a few other regulatory issues involving action—or in one case, inaction—affecting interstate drivers. Here’s our annual rundown of some of the issues trucking executives are currently dealing with—both in Washington and in state regulatory agencies.
Speedy CDL
Werner Enterprises, the nation’s 7th-largest truckload (TL) carrier with $2.37 billion revenue last year, has approximately 7,400 company drivers and another 440 owner-operators. The carrier is trying a novel approach to get applicants through the Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) process faster.
Werner is asking the federal government for a commercial learner’s permit (CPL) exemption to boost productivity and get drivers employed faster. “Our case is strong,” says Derek Leathers, president, chairman and CEO of Werner Express.
In an application filed with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) in July, the Omaha, Neb.-based truckload carrier stated that delays at the state licensing levels are hurting Werner from employing new drivers because drivers are no longer issued a temporary CDL after passing the CDL skills test.
Part of the application stated: “With no temporary CDL available, Werner must choose either to wait for the new driver to obtain a CDL from his or her home state before commencing freight movement in an ‘on duty’ status, or send the new driver home in an unproductive non-driving capacity. The outcome is an inefficiency in the supply chain and a lost employment opportunity for the driver.”
Werner added that because some states take “days or weeks” to update the status of a driver’s license after passing the CDL skills test, the company faces another set of delays. “The delays can be weeks and months, and that’s unacceptable,” Leathers says.
Werner is now asking that the new CDL driver be allowed to operate in interstate commerce with a “trainer” alongside. “The facts are compelling,” Leathers adds. “The negative economic impact is real, and the ability to enable us to help solve the capacity shortage is real.”
EPA clean air update
Another round of stringent emission standards will soon be coming out of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In the past, that’s meant higher prices for Class 8 trucks, which now sell for about $180,000 before discounts for large fleets.
Existing rules for nitrate oxide (NOx) have not changed in two decades, as they currently limit heavy trucks to 0.20 grams per brake-horsepower-hour. EPA is expected to lower that even further. Truckers are also bracing for new rules covering greenhouse gas emissions for new heavy trucks in the model year 2030 and beyond.
“What EPA may end up doing is requiring a certain percentage of fleets be powered by something other than diesel,” says FTR’s Vise. It’s all part of EPA’s “Clean Trucks Plan” to lower diesel emissions in over-the-road trucks.
EPA has recently stated that heavy-duty trucks are the largest contributor—up to 32%—of all mobile source emissions. “These pollutants are linked to respiratory or cardiovascular problems and other adverse health effects that lead to increased medication use, hospital admissions, emergency department visits and premature deaths,” EPA said in a statement.
The agency said that it’s hoping technology can improve emissions in heavy trucks. EPA added that its analysis of heavy truck pollutants shows “current NOx controls are not effective under certain low-load operation conditions, such as when trucks idle, move slowly or operate in stop-and-go traffic.”
Where can I park?
It’s a low-tech, but increasingly persistent problem for truck drivers: where can I find a safe, preferably free place to park my truck and get some rest when my hours of service have run out?
Even though some states have opened rest stops, Greg Orr of CFI says that the industry is “still struggling” because drivers in some states have to shut down three or four hours early just to get parking because shippers don’t let them park in their lots. “It affects supply chains and drivers’ income,” he says.
Orr adds that most drivers are running only 7.5 hours out of their 11 allotted hours, and then quit to find parking. “That’s money out of their pocket, and our pocket too,” he says. “That concerns me. We don’t have enough parking, and if we layer up construction, that could make that
number worse than it even is now.”
Trucker Path, a comprehensive mobile app for truckers used by more than 1 million drivers, conducted a survey recently that shows most truck rest stops fill up as early as 7 p.m. Most chain truck stops tend to be favored and fill up earlier and more often than independent truck stops, rest areas and other truck-friendly parking areas across the country, the survey found. Also, truck stops on the East Coast usually get filled up earlier than those located on the West Coast at night.
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has studied the issue. There’s even a regulation called “Jason’s Law,” named for Jason Rivenburg, a truck driver who was shot and killed in 2009 after he was forced to park in an unsafe location. The FHWA has even formed a National Coalition on truck parking based on the fact that 72% of states report problems with truck parking.
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, as part of negotiations on a $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation bill, rejected an amendment sponsored by Rep. Mike Bost (R-Ill.) that would have allocated $1 billion specifically for truck parking.
Trucking AB5 case heading to Supreme Court?
It’s very likely the Supreme Court will decide the owner-operator dispute in California, commonly known as the AB5 case.
That’s because it appears to be a conflict between two appellate courts.
“The AB5 is a huge issue for trucking,” says Avery Vise, vice president of trucking for the research firm FTR. “This is the big kahuna.”
The issue emanates from a California worker classification ruling involving owner-operators. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled that owner-operators should have been classified as employees. The First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston said that they should remain owner-operators.
It’s a carefully watched case because of its ramifications. Already, some large TL operators such as Schneider have stopped using owner-operators domiciled in the Golden State.
At the heart of the Ninth Circuit’s ruling is that an owner-operator could not work at a company that was in the same business category. The First Circuit said that was too restrictive.
More than 70,000 owner-operators worked as independent contractors in California before the law was slated to go into effect January 2020. The California Trucking Association asked lower courts to stay the rule—before finally asking the Supreme Court to decide the matter.
“It very well might end up in the Supreme Court,” says Derek Weathers, president, chairman and CEO of Werner Express. “It’s been litigated, and we have conflicting opinions. At some point it needs to be sorted out.”
Trucking interests argue the entire matter is preempted by the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act (F4), which has been used to supersede state actions in interstate commerce.
One idea being discussed in trucking circles is to turn old, vacant industrial and office parks, closed either because of COVID or during the recession, into acres of free truck parking. The benefits would be those neighborhoods are used to trucks being there, and they are usually close to Interstate highways and other truck-heavy routes. But hurdles remain from some zoning regulations and general opposition to allowing more trucks in those areas.
Rules, et cetera
There are other minor possibilities of changes in trucking rules and regulations, but nothing firm. They include some minor tweaks possible to the Hours of Services (HOS) regulations covering truck drivers. These, if enacted, are not expected to be major or a disrupting factor in operators.
Another possibility is a provision included in the $1 trillion infrastructure package that would increase the minimum amount of insurance for carriers from $750,000 to $2 million.
In the meantime, the drug and alcohol clearing house, which went into effect about three years ago, continues to shine the spotlight on unsafe operators. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCA) Drug and Alcohol Clearing House has recorded upwards of 56,000 driver violations for failing drug tests, DUIs or other substance abuse problems. More than 45,000 of them are still unable to drive, with thousands of more drivers expected to leave the profession because they fear they might not pass a drug test.
Another ongoing issue involves rule-making to screen for sleep apnea among truck drivers. The Obama administration first proposed this a decade ago, but decided not to pursue it. It could be revived under a Biden-led DOT.
And FMCSA extended a waiver, at least through Nov. 30, from its HOS regulations for carriers who are providing direct assistance during the COVID pandemic. The waiver applies to truck drivers who are hauling supplies, such as medical supplies, vaccines, fuel deliveries and other essentials, in direct support of pandemic relief efforts.
Who knows if the current focus on infrastructure and COVID will last. But, regardless, truckers will continue to welcome relief from burdensome regulations.
