Trucking Alliance Joins Court Fight
Washington, D.C.
The Trucking Alliance for Driver Safety and Security (Trucking Alliance) and Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety have filed a joint amicus brief in the Seventh Circuit US Court of Appeals, in support of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) effort to fend off a legal challenge by the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) to stop the agency’s electronic logging device (ELD) rule for truck drivers.
The federal rule requires ELDs in most commercial trucks by December 2017. FMCSA issued the rule on December 16, 2015, and implements Congress’s 2012 mandate to require ELDs for interstate commercial trucks. OOIDA maintains that ELDs are no better than handwritten paper logs when it comes to hours of service compliance or highway safety.
“Our amicus brief explains that ELDs are a critical component of the transportation industry’s commitment to improving highway safety by adopting new technologies,” said R. Jay Taylor, Jr., partner in the law firm of Scopelitis, Garvin, Light, Hanson & Feary, P.C. “ELDs make hours of service compliance easier, cheaper and improve highway safety by helping to ensure that truck drivers get the rest they need,” he added.
“Operating a large commercial truck is not an entitlement, but a privilege, and we have a moral responsibility to make sure our truck drivers are properly trained, drug and alcohol free and properly rested,” said Steve Williams, president of the Trucking Alliance and chairman and CEO of Maverick USA in Little Rock, Arkansas. “When ELDs are installed in every commercial truck late next year, they can be the technological platform upon which our industry can build a safe and efficient supply chain for the future.”
“The Trucking Alliance and Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety represent a broad, united spectrum of highway users and transportation companies that know these ELDs can make the highways safer for truck drivers and motorists alike,” said Lane Kidd, managing director of the Trucking Alliance. “We’re committed to making sure this congressional mandate becomes a reality.”