Page 18 - ATR 3 2013

Association has enjoyed success in bers are Massachusetts-based Boyle perspective, the ATA Board of Directors
Washington, D.C. Transportation and Arizona-based unanimously voted to endorse an
Kidd explained the creation Knight Transportation. EOBR mandate in 1999 – a bold and
of the Alliance for Driver Safety & The Trucking Alliance was cre- progressive policy. So, for 13 years, the
Security, or The Trucking Alliance, a ated to help U.S. Senator Mark Pryor Arkansas organization remained the
Washington, D.C. corporation funded (D-Ark.), build support for legislation only state or national trucking associa-
by seven trucking companies, five of suggested by the Arkansas Trucking tion to support putting EOBRs in all
which are ATA members – J.B. Hunt Association – to mandate the use of commercial trucks to verify hours-of-
Transport, Fikes Truck Line, Maverick, electronic on-board recorders (EOBRs) service requirements.
USA, Schneider National, and Dupré in commercial vehicles. In 2010, several of the ATA leader-
Transport. The two ATA non-mem- Kidd said to put the issue in further ship, frustrated by the lack of progress
of the American Trucking Associations
to endorse an EOBR mandate as well as
the federal government’s slow progress
in promoting such a policy, thought it
was time to finally take the lead on a
change many believed was inevitable.
“The more the leadership looked
at the issue, the more we felt and the
This year’s CVSA event is June 4-6 at roadside inspection directors felt that this was the next step
sites across North America. for the industry to ensure compliance
and to ensure that all of the companies
Prepare your drivers BEFORE they hit the road with in this industry are operating by the
J. J. Keller’s wide range of safety & compliance solutions, same playbook and all of us here know
including: they aren’t,” Kidd said.
When ATA approached Pryor about
• DVIRs & Log books • Training programs the idea, he pointed out that it would be
• Publications • Cargo securement devices hard to pass through Congress because
no one else was for it. Even many in
• Seals & placards • And much, much more. Arkansas were opposed. To create a uni-
• Vehicle supplies fied voice, ATA’s board authorized Kidd
• Posters & charts to create and manage The Trucking
Alliance if individual companies agreed
to subsidize the lobbying effort.
Seven carriers volunteered to
finance the effort and The Trucking
Alliance was born. It elected a board
of directors, with Steve Williams, CEO
of Maverick, serving as chairman and
Craig Harper, chief operating officer of
J.B. Hunt Transport, serving as presi-
dent. Kidd is the senior manager. Other
board members include Gary Salisbury,
CEO of Fikes Truck Line, Chris Lofgren,
For more information on our products — and to order: CEO of Schneider National, and Kevin
Knight, CEO of Knight Transportation.
VISIT jjkeller.com/roadcheck Kidd said the stars must have
aligned in their favor because there
CALL 800-327-6868 were only 284 bills passed by Congress
in 2012 out of 12,299 introduced, and
one of them was Pryor’s legislation on
EOBRs.
TM
Congress further directed the
PC 102324 FMCSA to implement a final rule with-

18 arkansas Trucking reporT | issue 3 2013