On May 22, 2018, CVSA President Capt. Chris Turner testified before the United States House of Representative’s Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s Subcommittee on Highways and Transit. The hearing was called to gather input from a variety of stakeholders on the progress of implementing the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, passed in December 2015.
Capt. Turner’s testimony focused on the need for clear and efficient regulations and a more effective rulemaking process. He stressed that the history of delays in official issuance of rules and regulations has created challenges and inconsistencies in the enforcement community. In addition, he discussed the role that exemptions play in complicating effective enforcement of safety regulations and the need for continued work with international harmonization.
During the hearing, the subcommittee also heard from Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) Administrator Martinez and representatives from the motor coach industry, livestock industry and truck safety advocates community. Other witnesses included:
Mr. Dale Krapf, Chairman, Krapf Transportation
Mr. Mike VanMaanen, Owner, Easter Missouri Commission Company; on behalf of Livestock Marketing Association
Ms. Jennifer Tierney, Board Member, Citizens for Reliable and Safe Highways; on behalf of Truck Safety Coalition
During their testimonies and the subsequent questions from committee members, a few topics were common: implementation of the electronic logging device (ELD) requirement, hours-of-service regulations, progress of the provision of the FAST act to encourage military veterans to enter the commercial motor vehicle (CMV) industry, autonomous vehicle technology, the growing shortage in qualified CMV operators, the merit of an automatic emergency brake mandate, underride protection, and potential modifications to the minimum operator training standards.
Capt. Turner’s full written testimony can be found here, and a video of the hearing can be found on the subcommittee’s website here.