Page 22 - ATR 6 2012 web

“without a healthy highway-based traNsPortatioN Network,
we caN forget about global comPetitiVeNess.”

—JohN larkiN, maNagiNg director,
stiefel Nicolas

of collecting tolls can be as high as 14 stump, President Obama often said that inghouse, threats to de-fund, repeal or
percent of revenue, while the fuel tax “it is time to do a little nation-building nullify the mandates could develop in
overhead is about 0.2 percent. at home.” That likely could involve bil- the House early this year.
“Let’s maintain and repair our lions of dollars in transport spending. And realistically, the timetable
spectacular Interstate system and elimi- It seems as if raising the fuel could take a bit longer. The final rule
nate the many bottlenecks that greatly tax suddenly has bipartisan sup- on EOBRs will be issued in mid to late
reduce the utility of our vital highway port in Washington. Conservative 2014, and another two years will be
network,” respected trucking analyst Republicans and liberal Democrats allotted for the industry to fully comply.
John Larkin of Stiefel Nicolaus said. appear to be coalescing on the issue. The actual roll-out of EOBRs by
“Without a healthy highway-based Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), a lib- fleets seeking to be in compliance with
transportation network, we can forget eral Democrat on the House Budget the new rule will be multi-faceted.
about global competitiveness.” and Ways and Means Committees, Implementation will involve EOBR
recently said that a “modest program of product updates and certificates as well
NEw lEadErSHIp aT T&I fuel tax increases” would help both the as carrier system upgrades and imple-
coMMITTEE economic recovery and fiscal stability of mentation of new EOBR systems.
The election meant changes at the nation. The mandate will likely increase
the top of the House Transportation the number of EOBRs on trucks from
& Infrastructure (T&I) Committee. wHaT IS dEFINITEly coMINg its current 500,000-600,000 level to
The current chairman, Rep. John Mica oUT oF waSHINgToN about 3 million.
(R-Fla.) has reached his caucus term While fuel tax increases seem The National Transportation Safety
limit as chairman. likely, there are some legislative and Board (NTSB) has targeted truck safety
A most familiar name will probably regulatory issues coming down the improvements on its annual “Most
be elected head of the T&I Committee. pipeline that will affect trucking. They Wanted List of Transportation Safety
The name is Shuster. Not Bud Shuster, include the final fine print of electronic Improvements.”
the retired chairman who was a power on-board recorders (EOBRs), establish- New on the NTSB’s list are elimi-
in the T&I Committee for decades. ment of a drug and alcohol information nating distraction, collision-avoidance
Rather, his son Bill Shuster (R-Pa.). clearinghouse on drivers, speed limiters technologies and infrastructure integ-
The younger Shuster told reporters and more tweaks of the Compliance, rity. Trucking is clearly targeted. On its
on Nov. 8 that making the financially Safety, Accountability (CSA) program website, the NTSB shows an overturned
strapped Highway Trust Fund solvent in affecting the industry. tractor-trailer as illustrative of distract-
the long term was a “priority” and also In late 2011, Sens. Frank ed driving.
indicated that everything was on the Lautenberg (D-N.J.), Jay Rockefeller The dangers posed by distracted
financial table — including raising fuel (D-W. Va.) and Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) operators were especially singled out by
taxes. introduced comprehensive truck safety the board, which noted that it caused
“I believe there’s going to be some legislation that included a mandate to “multiple accidents investigated by the
large-scale negotiations taking place, require EOBRs in all commercial trucks. agency in recent years and its deadly
not only in the lame duck but then into That final rulemaking was originally effects will only continue to grow as a
the next year,” Shuster said soon after due out in mid-2013. The industry then national safety threat.”
the election. has two years to install them in trucks. Substance-impairment is another
The president often mentioned While Congress included the EOBR issue high on the NTSB’s to-do list.
rebuilding the nation’s infrastructure mandate as well as Sen. Pryor’s legisla- Trucking would like to expand the alco-
during his campaign. When on the tion to create a drug and alcohol clear- hol and drug information clearinghouse

22 arkansas trucking report | issue 6 2012