Start. We just finished a vote which i just did, and im sure that well be joined by others of our colleagues for this very important hearing. Today this subcommittee is focused on safety, particularly as it relates to trucks on our nations roads and highways. This issue is something that i have cared about deeply throughout my career, and i appreciate senator blunts commitment as well. I know he has been very, very focused on issues relating to safety. There may be some issues that divide us, but there is so much more that we have in common x be thats why were having this hearing, thats why were joined by witnesses who are really experts on this topic from across a wide spectrum. The administration, safety advocacy, Law Enforcement and the industry, the Trucking Industry and the men and women who drive trucks. Im eager to hear their testimony and decide what we can do to reduce the fatalities and the injuries on our roads. There have been a lot of headlines lately, and youve probably seen about tracy morgan who was seriously injured in a crash in early june involving a large truck which also injured very severely a connecticut resident. But this hearing today isnt about one person, whether tracy morgan or anyone else. Its about the 4,000 people who are killed each year in truck crashes and nearly 100,000 each year who are injured. And there are reasons to be concerned according to nhtsa. Truck crash injuries increased by 40 from 2009 to 2012. And so the rules that have recently been implemented are front and center. I support these rules. I believe theyre a step in the right direction, and i believe that we should keep them in place because as one 2005 study conducted by fisma, the fmcsa demonstrated under the old rules, 65 of drivers reported feeling drowsy while driving and 48 admitted to falling asleep while driving at the same point during the can previous year. If were going to make any changes, they ought to be with the proper facts and review of this committee. Finish and i strongly caution against discarding years of careful analysis in addition while doing it on a strictly spending bill. The 2013 rules were designed to prevent Truck Drivers being forced to work too many hours, becoming exhausted and endangering themselves and other drivers on the road. And that has to be our continuing goal. Im open to hearing the views of my colleagues as well as the experts before us, and i think what we share here is a common commitment to safety, the best way of doing it is the path that we ought to choose. And for now i would say with the rules that we have before us which seem to be working, and we should allow to work before we consider changing or repealing them. With that, thank thank you so sr blunt for being here, the Ranking Member, be and i turn to him. Well, thank you, chairman, thank you for holding this hearing today. Since i think the first hearing we had was on intermodal freight transportation. As you stepped up to become chairman of this subcommittee, and you and i both, i think, have a complete commitment to doing the best we can to be sure that our Transportation System is the best one for safety on the highway, the best one to let our economy prosper, to let people have jobs and job opportunity, to make all of that work in the best way. The things on trains, trucks, ports, all are important parts of what were talking about here. Were glad to have the panel here. Ms. Farrell, thank you for your service. This may be the last time you appear in this particular job, but your commitment both in and now at the federal level have been significant, and thanks for the dedication youve brought to this job. Certainly, as the chairman mentioned, the safety of truck traffic and all our traffic has gotten a lot of attention in recent days. Senator collins, on the appropriations committee, did offer an amendment that was approved in a bipartisan vote that would suspend the restrictions on the ability of driverses to restart their weekly onduty time under hours of service rules. I think the best argument to be made there is it puts more people on the road during the Daylight Hours and maybe the second best argument to be made is im not sure that the Proper Research was ever done to think of the other implications of those new rules, but im sure well be talking about those rules today. The new restart provisions state that a restart period must include two backtoback periods from 15 a. M. Now, im not a 15 a. M. Guy. My mom and dad were dairy farmers. Im a 5 a. M. To whatever time it takes after that to get things done, but not everybody is best suited for every job, and thats maybe one of the things we need to consider just because i wouldnt be, want to be on the road from 15 a. M. Its not the busiest time on the road. And some people may choose to decide that thats the best time to do the work that they need to do and that they want to do. The bipartisan amendment that was in the transportation, housing and urban development provision merely suspends the two restrictions on the restart time until fisma could adequately study the effects of what both of these restrictions are. Certainly, we want to look at the testimony today, we want to listen to the testimony and ask the questions that we need to ask to be sure that our safety rules really do provide more safety, that theyre reasonable, that families and individuals whose lives are lost, families whose lives are always impacted are getting the most protection that we can give with the safety rules that we have. Clearly, you know, were talking a lot right now as we finish up this particular week in the congress about transportation funding, how important it is that we meet our obligationings. Its one of the obligations. Its one of the things from the very start the federal government was thought to be an important partner in. One of the things specifically mentioned in the constitution; road building, post offices and post roads, and we want to be sure were doing that in one of the best ways we can. One of the best ways to do that is have hearings, ask questions and try to see legislation follows up on the information we achieve. Again, chairman, youve been particularly vigorous in pursuing the potential for this subcommittee, and im glad to be working on it with you. And senator booker and others. Thank you. Thank you very much, senator blunt. Im going to introduce the witnesses and then ask them to make their opening statements. Were very grateful to ann ferro for being here today, shes the administrator of the federal motor carrier Safety Administration, in fact, the longest serving administrator in its history. She was appointed by president obama in 2009, and i join senator blunt in expressing my regret that this is probably your last appearance before this committee and wish you well in your future work. Joan claybrook is a witness who really needs no introduction. She is cochair of advocates for highway and auto safety and a frequent participant in our work and hearings. She is the former president of Public Citizen. Prior to becoming president of Public Citizen in 1982, she was an administrator of the national Highway Traffic Safety Administration in the department of transportation. Were honored also to have david palmer, major david palmer of the Texas Department of Public Safety. Major palmer is the former president and board member of the commercial Vehicle Safety alliance which is an International Organization that enforces commercial motor Vehicle Safety laws, and hes currently a major with the Texas Department of Public Safety where he oversees texas Highway Patrol divisions Highway Safety operations center. Mr. William jack dawson is a freight driver with ups. Mr. Dawson is a professional truck driver in dallas, texas, where he drives for ups. Hes been a professional driver for 33 years, and hes currently a member of local 745. He trains new employees in areas of safety, precautions and driver improvement. Dave is the Senior Vice President of Public Policy and Regulatory Affairs at the American Trucking associate inc. , and hes been in that position since january of 2010. He served as Vice President for safety, security and options at the hearn operations at the American Trucking associations, and he was instrumental in working with the Safety Task Force to develop an 18point agenda to further improve safety on our nations highways. Were honored and grateful that all of you are with us today, and well begin with ms. Ferro, administrator ferro. Thank you both for your kind recognition of my service and for the opportunity to be here today to talk about the progress that we have made in raising the bar for truck safety. The primary mission of fmcsa is to reduce crashes, injuries and fatalities involving large trucks and buses. Its a mission stakeholders across the nation engage in and strive to achieve every single day. We know that one life lost is one too many, and the more than 4,000 people who die each year on our roads due to truck and busrelated fatalities is unacceptably high. One of the most be important recent steps this agency has taken has been to implement a new [inaudible] for Truck Drivers. While most drivers and carriers put safety as their number one priority, the fact be remains that some are subject to exceptionally demanding work schedules, especially compared to working limits of the average american and compared to working limits in some other Transportation Safety sectors. For Truck Drivers, our rule took common sense and reasonable steps to put limits on the most extreme schedules. Most important is that this rule is projected to save lives and prevent approximately 1400 crashes, over 500 injuries. And even if we use modest estimates of fatigue as a factor in crashes, this rule is expected to assist in saving over 400 lives per year. Now, some have said that the rule is causing harm to Trucking Companies, and yet the truth is we have not seen the documentation of that fact. In fact, truck tonnage is at an alltime high. Since 2009 freight shipments in the forhire industry have increased 30 , and trucking profitability is on par for recordsetting profits this year. When i became administrator nearly five years ago, i set the foundation for a safe operating environment for trucking. Starting with a performancebased enforcement platform that we call compliance, safety accountability or csa, moving to a ban on truck or bus drivers texting or talking on cell phones and measured the closed loopholes that allow unsafe drivers and companies to avoid being held accountable to importantsafety standards. All of this work was done in partnership with stakeholders at this very table and using the best available data. Our work has been greatly enhanced by map 21 which added clear requirements for improved hours through clocking devices and a strengthened rebel industry of certified medical examiners. While these steps are important to improving safety, we need to recognize that the economic pressures on Trucking Companies and drivers often reward the ones that push the limits. Thats why weve been researching two closelyrelated issues; the impact of drive Detention Time and driver compensation on safety outcomes. Many drivers, in fact, most drivers compensation is tied to the number of miles they drive, and excessive waiting Times Associated with loading and unloading can negatively impact a drivers schedule, their earning potential and certainly interfere with a drivers ability to complete deliveries and complete that pay cycle. In short, it creates an economic incentive for drivers to drive beyond the legal limits, drive beyond their physical limits, and in some cases, drive tired when they are least safe. For fmcsa, it comes back to safety. In fact, the dedicated, welltrained professionals or who are operating vehicles deserve to be fairly compensated for all the hours they are working. Thats why the grow america act includes a proposal to insure that drivers are compensated for all opduty time. Onduty time. Mr. Chairman, again, i want to thank you for the opportunity to join you today for this important subject. In our view, achieving safety every trip, every time takes all of us, and for that i am looking forward to answering any questions you might have today. Thank you. Thank you. Ms. Claybrook . Thank you very much, mr. Chairman. Its a pleasure to be here with you and the subcommittee. I have my full statement which i would like to submit for the record along with some other documents. Without objection. Thank you very much. Im representing advocates of highway and auto safety which is a coalition of Insurance Companies and consumer organizations. I serve as the cochair. Be advocates has been involved in the issue of motor carrier safety for 25 years for good reason. Truck crashes are a serious, deadly and costly program to families, our Health Care System and to our economy. Government data illustrates the emotional and economic toll that large crashes take on the American Public. They kill 3,921 and ininjured another 100,000 people in 2012 at a cost of more than 99 billion. And truck crash deaths and injuries are climbing. The the death toll caused by truck crashes is equivalent to a Major Airline crash every single week in this country, and we know that the congress would not put up with a Major Airline crash every single week in this country. So we think that they need, you need to take some steps to improve truck safety. The death toll caused by truck crashes and the transportation crisis that results should never be tolerated by our elected leaders or by the department of transportation. And for the public it is a nightmare. In almost all truck car crashes, it is the car occupants who are killed or severely injured 96 of the time. These victims reis side in every state across the country. I would like to take just a minute to introduce two parents and a young woman to this committee who are here to personally support improving truck safety, larrys teenage sonic was killed in 1997 on his way to sixing thats in new jersey. A tire trucker ran over his car when he was on the shoulder of the highway, and he is a board member of parents against tired truckers. Swerved to avoid hitting a deer coming to a stop in the right lane, they were killed moments later by a tired trucker who ran over their car even though no one was in the lefthand lane. And morgan lake is a truck survivor. Last july she was hit from behind by a distracted driver. The impact plunged her car into the water. She freed herself and qualm to a bridge and swam to a bring pillar. My testimony this afternoon will focus on three campaigns that would jettison truck stay and undermine progress. They include the take on safety reforms incorporated by the Obama Administration in the 2011 hours of service rule. Second, the ongoing problems with the credibility and reliability of the d. O. T. Comprehensive truck size and weight study, and third, special legislation to preempt states and force them the allow longer combination trucks. Another concern about truck safety provisions is in the administrations grow america act. They are explained in detail in my written statement. First, fatigue. Truck drives is one of the most Truck Driving is one of the most dangerous occupations in the united states. Commercial drivers are exempt from maximum hours and overtime requirements of the fair labor standards act, amazingly, since 1937. The compensation for all other employees working more than 40 hours a week. In 2003 the federal motor carrier Safety Administration changed the hour of service rules, however, the rule dramatically increased working and driving hours. This was accomplished by allowing a socalled restart provision which permits drivers to restart their 6070 hour driving limit at any point during the workweek by just taking 34 hours off duty. The Trucking Industry enthusiastically embraced this change because it increased the maximum workweek to an amazing 82 hours and reduced the offduty rest Time Available to one day and ten hours. The startling decline in driver sleep and increase in driver fatigue was documented in a 2006 survey of Truck Drivers. It showed that nearly two of thirds of the drivers surveyed, 65 , admitted to driving while tired, and nearly half, 48 , reported they actually fell asleep behind the wheel while driving in the previous year. However, the safety reforms finally adopted after nine years of consumer and safety litigation. In 2011 the hos rule was only implemented a year ago in 2013 had two positive changes that included a onceperweek limit on use of the 34hour restart. You had to wait seven days. Reducing the max hum workweek from 82 hours to 70 hours. Seems reasonable. Also the agency adopted a requirement for two overnight offduty periods between 15 a. M. To insure the rest will include two nighttime periods to permit a driver to achieve the most restorative type of sleep to meet the demands of the freight business while preparing for the rigors of driving these long hours. And this applies, i want to emphasize, only to those drivers who have maxed out on their 70 hours. Its just those drivers. Unfortunately, even these minimal, common sense safety improvements are u