Via NY Times

Letters to the Editor: New York Times

Rules for Truckers

To the Editor:

“Deadliest Danger Isn’t at the Rig but on the Road” (“Drilling Down” series, front page, May 15) exposed several dirty little secrets in the trucking industry: special-interest exemptions from federal driving limits, falsifying logbooks to hide actual driving hours, and the tragic results of fatigued drivers. 

Congress is negotiating a transportation bill that addresses several issues in the article. The bill passed by the Senate requires electronic onboard recorders to modernize compliance with driving limits, making it harder for truck drivers to work excessive hours. Onboard recorders automatically record driving time in place of paper logbooks that are so often falsified by drivers that they are called “comic books.” 

Onboard recorders cost under $500 and give law-enforcement inspectors accurate information. At the same time, Congress plans to dole out even more exemptions from driving limits for truckers in agribusiness and other industries. Special-interest exemptions undermine highway safety for everyone and should be stopped. 

JACQUELINE S. GILLAN
President, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety
Washington, May 18, 2012