Up next Senate Lawmakers look into regulations and safety issues for large trucks. The Senate Commerce subcommittee heard from those who work in the Trucking Industry and a truck safety group. Authorization. Several trucking policies found many changes in the past decade including changes in both the industry and regulatory changes at the federal motor carrier safety administration. In nebraska, the hours of service at the top of the list. Concerns from truckers are consistent. These regulations are in flexible and do not reflect realworld situations. Because the Trucking Industry, 1sizefitsall approach fails, each of the different types of operations. Congress requires them to enforce Service Requirements. To be sure drivers dont drive when fatigued and delegated significant authority to f m csa for these requirements. A notice of proposed rulemaking for Service Requirements. To update regulations, interested stakeholders made their comments known to the agency. One has faced the challenges of hours of Service Regulations, they have a critical responsibility, moving lives, cashable products, and livestock callers found themselves in a regulatory bind between the hours of Service Requirement and animal where a welfare lives. The regulations received significant attention several regulatory changes are worth discussing today. The entry level Driver Training rule has drug and alcohol clearinghouse both of which will improve safety. In both cases after am csa had to delay these rules. More about the intended impact of these rules on safety. It required f m csa to take down the safety measure system from public view. After study by National Academy of sciences am csa is considering how to move forward with this program. I expect to hear from the witnesses about the impact with the broader Accountability Program on trucking. Others impact the Trucking Industry including the availability of parking, advances in vehicle and load matching technology, and the event of time. And and and it is crib year from the American Trucking association. Mark leibovich, in depth from the independent drivers association, american manifesto saving democracy from villains, vandals, and ourselves from the Truck Safety Coalition and Sergeant Deirdre mccloskey from commercial Vehicle Safety association. I want to thank the witnesses for traveling to participate in this hearing. All of you are widely respected within your organizations and have unique experiences and perspectives that are valuable to us as we continue our work to improve the safety and efficiency of americas Trucking Industry. I would like to invite Ranking Member durbin for opening remarks. I want to apologize for being late this morning. Thank you for your patience and thank you to the chairman for the hearing and thank you for joining us today to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing Us CommercialTrucking Industry. Our Global Competitiveness is closely tied to the efficient Transportation Network. The nexus between interstate commerce and commercial trucking demonstrates the relationship with federal investments and our nations economic prosperity. Up to 18 billion tons of grapefruits moved across the United States in 2018, 12 million tons valued 12 trillion removed by truck. Illinois at the epicenter of a great conversation Network Offering unparalleled access to global markets. 1 billion tons valued at 3 trillion move through illinois and trucks carry half of that tonnage, valued at 1 trillion. Investing in infrastructure keeps goods going through the system and a tremendous return on investment for customers in all 50 states. The most important aspect of any Transportation Network is safety. Safety remains a work in progress and we have a long way to go. Bottom line we can and must do better. Our nation in toward 560 roadway fatalities in 2018 including 4951 fatalities including large trucks. It is technically accurate large truck fatalities decline 59 from 19802017, over the last decade for which we have data. And they increased 47 . We need to keep a close eye on trends and impact on roadway users. Safety trends have reason for concern. Agencies like f mcm say, and its the nhtsa examining the impact of safetyrelated trucking initiatives. These agencies and others like them should have the opportunity to provide Technical Analysis and feedback needed to minimize uncertainty associated with untested initiatives. As we move toward reauthorization, congress should promote the use of new Safety Technologies designed to reduce hazards for Law Enforcement and supply chain efficiencies. We should also consider the role states play in commercial trucking and provide necessary space for critical collaboration and partnership to develop for the benefit of improved safety outcomes. Finally congress should continue to promote meaningful benchmark and metrics designed to enhance safety and performance while informing policy discussions. I look forward to developing these and other important topics with an eye toward safety. With transportation policies, i want to thank todays witnesses and our chairman and look forward to your testimony. Thank you, senator duckworth. We will recognize witnesses for opening testimony and i would like to recognize senator peters who has the pleasure of introducing our witness today. Thank you for the opportunity, i would like to extend a warm welcome to our witness, a native michigan, 15 years after suffering from a terrible tragedy that took the life of her father, dawn king made it her lifes work to advocate measures to improve safety on our roadways. She serves as president of the Truck Safety Coalition, a partnership between citizens for reliable and safe highways foundation and parent against tired truckers. In this role miss king is passionate and the tireless advocate for safety legislation and an invaluable voice for victims on the state and federal level. Miss king hails from davis berg, michigan, northwest and is with her husband, bruce, who also advocates truck safety issues. Thank you for your testimony today and thank you for taking time to meet with me earlier this morning and your work on these important issues and i look forward to your testimony and testimony of all members of the distinguished panel. Thank you. You are recognized. Good morning fisher, Ranking Member duckworth and other members of the somebody. My name is dawn king and im president of the Truck Safety Coalition and a board member of crash, which along with parent against tired truckers forms tsc. Thank you for the opportunity to testify this morning. Im here to give a voice to thousands of survivors, victims and families like mine who had a loved one killed or seriously injured in a tragic, preventable truck crash. In this hearing room we have another victims family member, tracy, his daughter, and unborn granddaughter were killed on the beltway in dc a couple years ago and she provide support as well. Im here because my father was killed two days before christmas in 2004 by a tired truckers who fell asleep at the wheel. Every year, thousands of people are dying needlessly in truck crashes. The National TrafficHighway Safety administrations most recent data shows 4951 people were killed in 2018, a 50 increase from 2009. Additionally, 151,000 people were injured. 885 truck accidents were killed, the highest and 1989 yet even with this horrendous rise in fatalities, important and lifesaving regulations are under attack in congress and the administration. I assure you the safety rollback that repeals would never be tolerated in any other mode of transportation especially with such an unacceptable death and injury told. They are proposing unsaved changes to the hours of service regulation. Furthermore, in every session of congress there exempts for special interests for hours of service. My written statement goes into detail how harmful these proposals would be and we urge you to oppose these attacks. Even more difficult to understand, we introduce legislation which lowers the minimum age from 2118 which allows teams to drive teen drivers have significantly higher crash rates in a safer space than older drivers. There is no evidence that introducing teen drivers will in any way improve safety. We strongly oppose the change and so does the american public. Advocates for auto safety released an opinion poll that shows 62 of the public opposes this change. What we should be doing is focusing on what can be done to promote truck safety, automatic emergency braking have been proven 3 years of use to reduce the numbers of crashes to mitigate the severity. The rebels including f 2700, protecting First Responders act introduced require the lifesaving technology. We commend senator duckworth for cosponsoring the legislation with senator durbin. Additionally there is clear and convincing evidence that the limiters make trucking safety, this lifesaving technology is not new in his been used in other countries for years. It has been a standard component on most trucks since the late 1990s with many Truck Companies voluntarily sets their trucks to a safe speedball trucks should be using speed limiters. Truck under ride crashes are the most horrific crashes imaginable particularly when violent intrusion occurs under the passenger compartment. A bipartisan legislation, 665 to stop under ride which would strengthen rearguard and improve under ride protection on all sides of a tractortrailer, this bill was sponsored by senator gillibrand and cosponsored by many members of the committee including senators duckworth, marky, blumenthal, all of these technologies can prevent serious and deadly crashes but when the crash involves a truck that is underinsured the results can be devastating. Today the minimum amount of insurance required per truck per crash, no matter how many victims, is only 750, 000. That was set 40 years ago and never been increased. Many victims of truck crashes struggle to pay for rehab expenses. We urge support for hr 3781, the insurance act, which will increase the minimum insurance required, and account for medical cost inflation and be indexed every five years. And conclusion, the survivors of large truck crashes remain hopeful members of this committee will make sure safety never takes a backseat to industry profits or political pressure. I would like to take a moment to wish my dad a happy birthday. Had he not been killed, by a tired trucker in a completely preventable crash he would be 91 today. I cant call him,. I cant talk to him tonight like i would have. Cant send him a card but i can offer this testimony. Thank you for the opportunity to testify and answer your questions. I would like to introduce Christopher Spear of the American Trucking association and Trucking Industry stakeholders. Welcome. Subcommittee members, for 87 years, eta remains the Largest National trade organization representing the Trucking Industry. Affiliates in all 50 states encompass 34,000 Motor Carriers and suppliers, represent every sector of the industry and 80 of ata membership comprised of small carriers. Trucking is 70 of the freight tonnage worth 10 trillion. 80 of Us Communities rely on trucks for their freight needs. The Trucking Industry is 7. 7 Million People strong, one in every 18 jobs in the us where a truck driver, the top job in 2000 states 29 states. My statement focuses on safety and technology, Workforce Development and infrastructure and is grounded in data. From 19802017 america witnessed a 71 drop in fatal crashes. Yet fatalities on our nations highways climbed in recent years. We can and must do better. The cause is clear. Distracted driving. 72 of large truck crashes had no truck driver related factors recorded fueled largely by the growing addiction to speeding and texting. Technology is key, automated emergency braking and Adaptive Cruise control. Like pilot and planes we will continue to see drivers in trucks, a future not based on Driverless Technology but Driver Assist solutions. We applaud the secretary of transportation for leadership on Technology Including preserving 5. 9 gigahertz spectrum for safety connecting cars, trucks and infrastructure, using aeb to save lives. The suv wants to handle the spectrum to big cable so you can download youtube videos faster. Please stop the shameless assault on Public Safety. We need more tools to populate the fmc drug clearinghouse including technology that detects marijuana. Employers must be allowed to use hair testing as a small screening method. Three years since this committee instructed h h s to issue such rules. Sounds to me like a few cubicle glowing bureaucrats are coming their noses at you and Public Safety by keeping the scientifically proven and successfully deployed method, to be held accountable. Trucking is short 60,800 drivers and must hire one. One new drivers over the next decade made harder by a 50 year low on employment. We need more women, minorities, veterans, service men and women and a focus on improving the safety and health and wellness of our current workforce. We need access to the next generation of drivers. 49 states currently allowing 18yearold to drive a class a commercial vehicle making it legal to drive an 850 mile stretch of california. It is illegal to drive to providence, rhode island to rehobeth, massachusetts, a mere 10 miles. A heavily bipartisan safe drive act would require 400 hours of Apprenticeship Training and Safety Technology is 49 states require none of this making the drive safe act toward safety and recommend its media passes. Lastly, america cannot lead with third world infrastructure. Trucking is 4 of vehicles on our roads, we pay half to the Highway Trust Fund and willing to pay more. Trucking loses 70 billion each year sitting in congestion, 420,000 drivers sitting idle for an entire year. 67 million tons of co2 being admitted. Passenger drivers lose 1,600 a year due to traffic and repairs. These are the costs of doing nothing. Under atas build america fund, one nickel a year for four years would generate 340 billion in new revenue shoring up the soon to go broke Highway Trust Fund without adding a dime to the deficit. It is immediate. It is conservative. Less than one sent on abolish minister versus 0. 35 on the dollar for holes. Business and labor are 100 behind the build america fund. Your passing it would be a major victory for americas roads and the millions of voters that use them each day, thank you. Thank you, mister spear. I would like to welcome mister lewie pugh, executive Vice President of the Owner Operator independent drivers association, a role he was elected to in 2018. He began his career in trucking in 1992 as mode of transport operator in the United States army reserves. Welcome. Thank you. I am lewie pugh, executive Vice President of the owner operated independent drivers association. Prior to working here i was a Small Business operator for nearly 23 years with roughly 2 and a half million miles of driving. Prior to that i was a truck driver in the United States army and still proudly hold my cdl. In short, my entire career has been in trucking. From the perspective of Small BusinessMotor Carriers and professional drivers, the state of the Trucking Industry is dysfunctional. This is because too many people who know virtually nothing about trucking have an oversized role in shaping trucking policies. Drivers feel the negative effects of this firsthand myself included. The hours of Service Rules are broken. There are hundreds of regulations that have nothing to do with Highway Safety. The lack of available trucks is a national crisis. Enforcement is often motivated by profit, and drivers work extremely long hours for notoriously low. If you ask most drivers what congress has done recently to help their profession the answer would be simple, nothing. Most members would tell you congress and ask laws that drive truckers away from the industry and decrease Highway Safety. This isnt a partisa