Trucking needs more sensible regs, not fewer: TCA

– There is no appetite in Washington to reduce trucking regulations, but there is great potential to make the regulations that trucking operates under more sensible. He said electronic logging devices (ELDs) are generating the data needed to fine-tune trucking regulations, including hours-of-service.

To lobby for fewer regulations when fatal truck crashes are trending upwards is the wrong approach, Heller said. “Talking about reducing regulations is not the conversation you want to have right now,” he said. trucking industry was in compliance, Heller said. The data being generated by the devices is allowing fleets to better track detention time and can be used by policymakers to design better regulations. It’s painting a more accurate picture of what drivers face on a daily basis…the data mined through ELDs is astronomical.” When discussing regulations with lawmakers, “data is king,” Heller said.

Infrastructure funding is another issue facing the trucking industry in the U.S. The trucking industry is pushing for a fuel tax increase, but other options include: a vehicle miles traveled tax; tolls; public-private partnerships; repatriation (bringing foreign money back into the U.S.