Trucking news and briefs for Wednesday, March 15, 2023:
The Truck Safety Coalition (TSC), a group dedicated to reducing the number of deaths and injuries caused by truck-related crashes, is calling on Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to prioritize truck safety measures in the wake of recent hazmat emergencies.
In a letter to Buttigieg, TSC and other groups said government inaction contributed to the recent train derailment and the resulting hazardous materials spill in East Palestine, Ohio, and a similar scenario could be seen in trucking.
“Government inaction and relentless opposition by special trucking interests put the public at unnecessary and unreasonable risk of a deadly and dangerous crash,” the groups said. “It is past time to issue essential and overdue truck safety standards that will prevent hazmat crashes, save lives, protect communities, and put public safety ahead of corporate profits.”
TSC noted that trucks move approximately double the ton miles of hazmat that trains move per year. As a result, the group is calling on Buttigieg and the DOT to move forward and issue the following safety standards on trucks:
The group also voiced its opposition to several pieces of legislation that the group said “further endanger all roadway users and must be stopped.” These include the Ceasing Age-Based (CAB) Trucking Restrictions Act, which would allow under-21 CDL holders to pick up freight from ports; and the Safer Highways and Increased Performance for Interstate Trucking (SHIP IT) Act.
“The East Palestine train crash has revealed dangerous and deadly deficiencies in the rail transportation of hazardous materials,” TSC said in the letter. “Perilous deficiencies are also ubiquitous in the truck transportation of hazardous materials. There are no defensible excuses for further delays when public safety is clearly at risk. We urge you to act now on mandating these imperative and overdue safety improvements.”
