Senator Booker proposes truckers carry more insurance; paid hourly

[kscarbel2]

July 10, 2015

Truckers would have to carry more insurance and be paid by hours worked rather than miles traveled under legislation introduced Friday by U.S. Senator Cory Booker.

The Truck Safety Act also would require the government to develop new rules requiring commercial vehicles to have systems to help avoid collisions and to limit their speeds.

"Truck drivers work extremely long days to deliver the goods we depend on and keep our economy moving, but too often this comes at the expense of their safety and the safety of other drivers," said Booker (D-N.J.), the top Democrat on the Senate Commerce surface transportation subcommittee.

The American Trucking Associations, the trade group for the trucking industry, applauded some elements of the legislation and objected to others.

A fatal crash in June 2014 on the New Jersey Turnpike involving actor and comedian Tracy Morgan has called attention to the issue of truck safety. Morgan was injured and comedian James "Jimmy Mack" McNair was killed when their limousine was rammed from behind by a Wal-Mart tractor-trailer truck. The driver of the truck, Kevin Roper, had not slept for more than 24 hours, State Police said.

Booker in December unsuccessfully tried to block a provision to suspend two rest rules for truck drivers until Sept. 30 or whenever the government completes a study of the impact of those regulations, which were designed to limit when truckers can take an extended break between trips.

Under the senator's new legislation, trucks must carry at least $1.5 million in insurance, up from $750,000 limit that has not been raised in three decades. Future levels would rise with inflation.

It would require that truck drivers be paid for hours they work, not for the miles they drive. The transportation secretary would be instructed to issue those rules.

The bill also would require new rules to require the installation of devices that would help curb rear-end collisions and prevent trucks from speeding, and study of the impact of truck drivers having to commute several hours before they begin their routes.

Rob Abbott, vice president of safety policy for the American Trucking Associations, said the group supports the speed limit devices, which are already been considered by the Transportation Department, and has backed other technologies proven to avoid collisions.

"We support mandates for devices that have proven safety benefits," he said.

He also supported Booker's call for studying the impact of long commutes on drivers.

"Solutions to driver fatigue can't be focused solely on the hours they work," he said.

As for the insurance provision, Abbott said there is no evidence showing the need to raise the minimums, and the current levels cover most accidents when the driver is responsible.

[kscarbel2]

New bill mandates driver duty-time pay, doubles insurance minimum

Fleet Owner / July 13, 2015

Just a couple of days after raising a ruckus about truck safety in a Senate subcommittee hearing, and about year after trying to block the hours-of-service restart rollback on the Senate floor, Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) has introduced legislation containing a list of items “to modernize truck safety standards,” ranging from equipment mandates to operations management.

According to the summary and commentary provided by Booker’s office, the Truck Safety Act (S. 1739) provisions address:

Minimum insurance. Increases the minimum levels of insurance trucks must carry from $750,000 to $1.5 million. Insurance minimums have not been raised since the 1980’s and the current amounts do not provide adequate compensation for victims. The bill also increases insurance levels to keep pace with inflation, and gives the Secretary of Transportation discretion to raise minimum levels if deemed necessary.

Collision Avoidance Systems. Requires a rulemaking for commercial motor vehicles to have crash avoidance systems, such as forward collision warning systems and lane departure warning systems. The National Transportation Safety Board found that these advanced systems are critical to preventing rear-end collisions, thus saving lives and reducing injuries.

Speed Limiting Devices. Requires the Secretary of Transportation to finalize regulations requiring commercial motor vehicles to have speed limiting devices to prevent speeding. Safety advocates have estimated that the rule could prevent more than 1,000 fatal crashes.

Driver Compensation. Requires the Secretary of Transportation to mandate that employers compensate truck drivers for hours worked. Unfortunately, standard industry practice is for truck drivers to be paid based on miles driven and not hours worked, causing truckers to be overworked which creates perilous safety conditions on the nation’s roads.

Excessive Commuting. Would require a study on the effects of excessive commuting. There are concerns that far too often, truck drivers commute several hours to and from their base of operation, only adding to the grueling schedules many of them already work.

“Truck drivers work extremely long days to deliver the goods we depend on and keep our economy moving, but too often this comes at the expense of their safety and the safety of other drivers,” Booker said in statement. “We can significantly reduce the number of accidents on our nation’s highways by harnessing new technologies, and better protect victims of truck accidents by raising insurance minimums for trucks that haven’t changed in over 30 years. The Truck Safety Act will protect all drivers and make our nation’s highways safer.”

Booker is the top Democrat on the Commerce committee’s transportation subcommittee, which has jurisdiction over truck safety. The full committee is scheduled to meet Wednesday on the Senate’s proposed highway bill, a six-year program that contains a number of trucking-related provisions.