DOT's Highway Bill: Plenty Aggressive
Administration's proposal would hike funding, tighten regulations.
Doug Condra
President
So here you are, a state trooper cruising an interstate highway. Just ahead, a motorist veers across two lanes, cutting off a big rig whose driver nearly jackknifes to avoid the four-wheeler.
How do you react? If you're diligent and following current federal regulations, you stop the motorist, then flag down the trucker. You check both drivers' licenses. You give the car driver a ticket. Then you inspect the truck.
Why inspect the truck? Because the way the law is written, the only way your state will get federal money for enforcing truck safety laws is if you file data from truck inspections, regardless of the incident. It's also the only way your reports on motorists who drive dangerously around trucks can get into federal safety records.
That and other policies would change under the Department of Transportation's proposed highway bill - called the Safe, Accountable, Flexible and Efficient Transportation Equity Act of 2003 (SAFETEA). It's the cornerstone of the Bush administration's plan to reauthorize the surface transportation program, which expires Sept. 30.
It would eliminate the problem outlined above, and provide the feds with better data on cars' roles in causing accidents (they are estimated to be a factor in more than 70% of truck-involved crashes).
There's a lot more to the aggressive new bill. It would give the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration authority to examine safety data on intrastate operations - as well as interstate operations - in trucking company compliance reviews.
That's a big one. Current law does not allow federal safety inspectors to use a company's records on intrastate operations. Since a lot of interstate carriers also conduct intrastate business, it's a safety loophole. Inspectors have found it tough - sometimes impossible - to tell if a truck involved in an accident was on an interstate or intrastate trip.
FMCSA wants to let inspectors analyze both interstate and intrastate trips. It also wants authority to shut down both parts of a carrier - interstate and intrastate - if either operation is found unfit. Other provisions in the bill:
• Put "share the road with trucks" material in driver training manuals.
• 100% funding for high-priority research and education.
• Up to $17 million/year to audit new trucking entrants.
• Penalize those who don't respond to requests for safety records.
• Certify medical examiners of CDL applicants.
• Require private carriers to file proof of insurance.
• Raise out-of-service recordkeeping penalties to $1,000. Raise penalty for violating an O-O-S order to $25,000 for a driver, and $100,000 or a year in jail for an employer.
• Suspend or revoke a company's registration if any of its officers avoid compliance.
The DOT bill contains no tax increase, though it does (as we think it should) claim the 2.5-cent gasohol tax that presently goes into general revenues.
Despite its sizeable pricetag ($247 billion over six years), it's drawn fire from some safety advocates who want even more funding and stronger safety programs.
It looks plenty strong to us.
