The American Trucking Associations (ATA) applaud the five legislation that the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee adopted this week for addressing a number of trucking-related issues.
"The comprehensive and bipartisan bills that advanced today would address some of the root causes of ongoing supply chain challenges and improve the overall safety, efficiency and resiliency of freight transportation," said Chris Spear, president and chief executive officer of the American Trucking Associations.
A grant program to finance truck parking is intended to be established by the Truck Parking Safety Improvement Act. According to the ATA, there is currently just one parking place for every 11 truck drivers, and truckers spend an average of 56 minutes every day hunting for secure parking spots.
The License Act, on the other hand, aims to firmly establish waivers that permit CDL examiners in charge of skills tests to also administer knowledge tests and to perform a skills test regardless of the applicant's state of residence. During the Covid-19 outbreak, those waivers were repeatedly extended, and according to ATA, no safety implications have surfaced.
Furthermore, the Cars Act suggests a 10% weight tolerance for stinger-steer automobile transporters, which must now handle greater cargoes brought on by battery-electric vehicles.
There are other weight-related proposals as well. The Dry Bulk Weight Tolerance Act would also let dry bulk carriers to shift freight in vehicles loaded at or below the federal weight restrictions by allowing 10% weight tolerances.
A 2,000-lb weight exemption for hydrogen-powered vehicles (HR 3447), comparable to those offered for battery-electric and natural-gas trucks, completes the list.
