Making the truck driving profession an attractive, sustainable and safe career should be priorities in the next highway bill, OOIDA Executive Vice President Lewie Pugh told lawmakers during a House subcommittee hearing on Wednesday, March 26.
“During this Congress, the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure have the opportunity to pass the most pro-trucker highway bill in history,” Pugh wrote in his submitted testimony. “But you must understand that ‘pro-trucker’ and ‘pro-trucking’ are not always synonymous these days. In fact, many of the policies being touted as good for the trucking industry are primarily designed to fatten the wallets and cover the asses of trucking executives, corporate shareholders, shippers, brokers, and trial lawyers. Most of these proposals prioritize profits over safety by doubling down on many of the problems that have made careers behind the wheel of a commercial motor vehicle less appealing and sustainable, and our roads less safe.”
The House Highways and Transit Subcommittee held the hearing “America Builds: How Trucking Supports American Communities” as Congress begins to work on drafting its next highway bill.
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, which represents small-business truckers, encouraged lawmakers to build the legislation around pro-trucker efforts, such as truck parking funding. Meanwhile, OOIDA asked Congress to leave out provisions that would drive truckers out of business, such as efforts to increase the minimum liability insurance.
“OOIDA is sharing our vision for a highway bill that supports American workers, enhances supply chain efficiency and improves highway safety from the ground up by focusing on the most important element of trucking – the millions of hard-working men and women across the country who make their living on the road,” Pugh wrote.
Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, echoed OOIDA’s vision for the highway bill, holding up the February 2025 issue of Land Line Magazine with a story titled “Pro-trucker priorities.”
“I’m going to discuss for a few moments some of the priorities I’ve been working on for quite some time,” Nehls said. “Mr. Chair, for the record I’d like to submit Land Line Magazine’s February 2025 edition. If you need a quick summary from our nation’s trucker priorities, I recommend that you go to page 48 and enjoy it.”
Truck parking
A highway bill without funding to expand truck parking is a bill OOIDA will not support, Pugh said. Specifically, the Association would like to see Congress pass the Truck Parking Safety Improvement Act. HR1659, which was introduced by Rep. Mike Bost, R-Ill., would dedicate $755 million toward the expansion of truck parking.
“Alleviating the truck parking shortage has been the top safety concern for American truckers for more than a decade,” Pugh wrote. “Members of Congress from every corner of the country and across the political spectrum have supported this legislation over the years because they understand the truck parking crisis is negatively affecting their constituents who make a living behind the wheel. A lack of available parking spaces forces truckers to choose between parking in a potentially unsafe location, such as a highway shoulder, or continuing to drive while they feel fatigued or are out of available driving hours under federally mandated hours-of-service regulations.”
In addition to OOIDA, representatives for the Truckload Carriers Association, the American Farm Bureau Federation and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters also testified about the need for additional truck parking.
“Every day, drivers are forced to park unsafely along highway shoulders and interstate entry and exit ramps due to a severe lack of available parking,” wrote John Elliott, TCA’s past chairman. “With only 313,000 designated truck parking spaces nationwide, it is nearly impossible to accommodate the 3.5 million drivers who need safe and adequate parking.”
Bost asked Pugh what he would say to lawmakers who are concerned about spending funds on truck parking.
“I understand everyone has a concern about spending money,” Pugh said. “I have a huge concern about how money is being spent in Washington as well. We want money spent on good things that give us good results … If we’re really concerned about safety, the most important thing is that a driver should have a safe place to rest every single and solitary night.”
Minimum insurance
OOIDA also can’t get behind any highway bill that includes provisions to increase motor carriers’ minimum liability insurance.
Pugh said the Association will “vehemently oppose legislation that includes an increase of any amount.”
The Fair Compensation for Truck Crash Victims Act would increase a motor carrier’s minimum liability insurance from $750,000 to $5 million.
OOIDA argues that an increase is unnecessary as the most recent study found that current minimum insurance levels adequately cover damages in 99.4% of cases.
“Not only is such an increase wholly unnecessary, it would do nothing to improve highway safety, needlessly jeopardize countless blue-collar jobs and destroy many small trucking businesses,” Pugh wrote.
Although an increase to $5 million is unlikely, proponents of the measure could attempt to include a more modest increase in a highway bill.
The House version of the 2021 highway bill included a provision to raise the minimum insurance to $2 million, causing OOIDA to withdraw support for the legislation. The Senate version – which ultimately became law – did not include an insurance increase.
Other trucking issues
In addition to truck parking funding, OOIDA asked Congress to include in the highway bill such provisions as restroom access, enhanced driver training, broker transparency, ending self-certification for electronic logging devices, more flexible hours of service, a modernized DataQ system, a revamped National Consumer Complaint Database, enforcing English-proficiency regulations and measures to stop predatory lease-purchase agreements.
OOIDA opposes increased truck weights, decreased driving ages, increased tolling and mandates for speed limiters, side underride guards and electric vehicles.
“We’re working with members of this committee on key policies that will help develop the next generation of safe drivers, while simultaneously keeping today’s experienced drivers behind the wheel,” Pugh wrote. “We believe this is a blueprint for members of the committee who share our goal of passing the most pro-trucker surface transportation reauthorization in history.” LL
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