Anti-Idling Measure Not In Full Gear

      Congress passed a law to help cut unnecessary truck idling, but a bureaucratic snag has reduced the measure's effectiveness.
      In last year's Energy Act, Congress ordered that the weight limit be raised by 400 pounds for trucks that use auxiliary power units as an alternative to engine idling for heating, air conditioning and other driver comforts. The idea was to take away the risk of an overweight fine – and the penalty of 400 pounds less cargo capacity – for carriers that wanted to save fuel by installing APUs.
      Trouble is, the Federal Highway Administration reads the law as discretionary: While the states are not penalized for allowing the extra 400 pounds, they are not required to allow the weight – and many are not.
      At least one state, Florida, has issued overweight citations for APU-equipped trucks, says Glenn Kedzie, assistant general counsel of American Trucking Associations. The intent of the law was to create a national standard, but FHWA has interpreted it as permissive.
      "It was the right thing to do, and now we have a federal agency that won't even allow Congress to do what it wants," Kedzie says.
      Absent a change in the language of the law, FHWA believes it cannot make the higher limit mandatory. The agency has, however, published a proposal for implementing the provision as it interprets it.
      Under the rule the agency is proposing, a driver must certify that the APU is used for idle reduction, is in working condition and weighs no more than 400 pounds. The proposal was published in the May 1 Federal Register, and the agency is seeking comments.
      The same law that created the APU exemption authorized $19.5 million in 2006 for reducing truck idling, but that money has not been appropriated – a reflection of the budget crunch, Kedzie says.

Fuel Report continued...