trucking laws

State DOTs Request Relief Funding as Transportation Revenue Faces Major Losses

June 4, 2020 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

As we continue to see the coronavirus pandemic’s impact across the country, many state departments of transportation have begun reporting losses of revenue while more Americans adhere to stay-at-home orders.

In an effort to fight these losses, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) asked Congress to provide $50 billion in emergency relief, as well as a six-year, $800 billion surface transportation reauthorization bill, earlier this month.

This revenue request will aim to avoid any disruptions in state DOTs’ operations, and will also work to keep transportation systems operating as usual during COVID-19.

Transportation analytics group Inrix Inc. has recently released data showing that overall personal travel across the country dropped by 20% during the week of March 14th, and 42% by March 21st.

“That’s going to directly translate into a lot fewer gas tax dollars for states–and sometimes for local governments, too–to repair and expand their infrastructure networks with,” said Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy research director, Carl Davis. “This is all happening so fast. We don’t have a lot of hard data yet, but the early indications are already clear, and it’s going to be ugly.”

Inrix’s data also indicated that truck travel has had large drops as well, with figures showing long-haul truck traveling down 20% in the week ending March 27th, and commercial travel down 16% in the same week

“We expect it has to do with retailers [that] still need their inventory, [and] pharmacies [that] still need medicine,” said senior policy analyst at the Tax Foundation, Ulrik Boesen.

Toll revenue will also see major losses with fewer drivers out on the road–according to Boesen, there is currently little incentive for people to pay for express lanes with so many fewer vehicles sharing the highway.

“It’s almost hard to imagine an area of state and local tax that isn’t getting pummeled right now by what’s happening in the economy,” said Davis. “All these revenue sources are going to be dropping, and dropping very sharply.”

Right now, state DOTs are estimated to lose around 30% of their transportation revenues over the next 18 months. AASHTO’s $50 billion request is based on the revenue collecting methods of state DOTs, which, according to 2018 numbers, included 43% in highway user fees and tools, ($78.4 billion), 23% in federal grants ($42 billion), 18% in other state funding ($33.6 billion), 13% in bond issuance (23.8 billion), and 3% in local governments’ payments ($4.7 billion). With a total of around $112 billion in state DOT revenue, a 30% reduction would mean falling short by almost $50 billion.

“AASHTO is very concerned about the situation, and we see a phase 4 stimulus as a way of helping to provide immediate funding to prevent major cuts in the near-term for projects across the country,” said Tony Dorsey, AASHTO spokesman. “Our big concern is that if we don’t get this immediate backstop, as we’re calling it, we’re going to see possible project delays and a ripple effect throughout the entire economy.”

In addition to the $50 billion in emergency relief funds, AASHTO requested a six-year, $800 billion surface transportation reauthorization bill, which would work to eradicate the current investment backlog by 2030–while supporting overall economic recovery. AASHTO cites a $786 billion backlog in highway needs and a $116 billion backlog in transit needs under the US DOT Conditions and Performance Report.

Approval of these efforts will eliminate the longstanding backlog while addressing current condition and performance needs, which would support long-term economic growth–although the request calls for double the amount of federal funding within the FAST Act.

America’s road and bridge needs are also currently underfunded, with a $836 billion backlog of highway and bridge capital needs. Of the backlog, $420 billion is in repairing present highways, $123 billion is in bridge repair, $167 billion is in system expansion, and $126 is in system enhancement. Transit systems have also been extremely underfunded, bringing a $90 billion backlog in their rehabilitations. These numbers are likely to worsen as the pandemic continues.

On March 27th, President Trump signed the Congress-approved stimulus of $2.2 trillion. Now, lawmakers are working to decide upon the next phase of their COVID-19 response legislation.

America’s Truck Drivers Can’t Stay Home

April 30, 2020 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

When we think about the people in our communities who definitely can’t work from home, we most often think of emergency room doctors and nurses, and rightly so. However, there are many workers on the front lines in the fight against the spread of COVID-19 who may not be top of mind for most people, yet their contributions are vital to allowing people to get food and supplies in this critical time.

Whether you’re buying your food and essentials from a store or getting them delivered, those items most certainly spent part of their journey to your home on a truck driven by one of the over 3 million professional truck drivers in the United States. Since most the country is under some form of quarantine order or another, food, essentials, and medical supplies are nearly entirely moved only by professional drivers.

Some drivers regularly travel thousands of miles as part of a supply chain that keeps grocery store shelves fully stocked. If a driver were to get sick far from home at a time when there is no guarantee of testing, they may be left with few options and they even might get stranded. With so many businesses closed, many drivers will rely on truck stops and travel centers for rest, fuel, essentials, and supplies. In Some cases, these facilities may be the only ones available for drivers who are far from home.

The National Association of Truck Stop Operators (NATSO), a trade association based in Washington D.C. that represents the truck stop industry keeps a directory of stops and travel centers on their website to make it easier for drivers to locate facilities near them.

What if a driver gets sick?

Each trucking company is likely to have a different set of policies for its employees. In March, new Federal legislation was signed into law, called the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. The law requires employers with less than 500 workers to provide additional paid sick leave to their employees. Some of the provisions that require employers to provide additional paid leave to an employee situations where an employee has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine, or to someone is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and is seeking diagnosis. There are also provisions requiring higher compensation rates for some employees. However, there are exceptions to these rules given to some smaller businesses whose viability would be jeopardized by enacting these provisions. These new rules are set to expire at the end of 2020.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued some guidelines to help delivery drivers stay safe while working. Some of these tips can also apply to long-haul truckers. Additionally, truck drivers should be diligent about taking all the precautions they can to prevent the spread of this virus.

You’re probably tired of hearing this, but wash your hands:

Hand sanitizer may be helpful to have in a bind. However, it doesn’t substitute for washing your hands with soap and water for at least 30 seconds. This may seem like overkill, but you should wash your hands every time you get fuel, use the washroom, or before you eat. Just think about how many people touch a fuel pump or use the bathroom every day. In fact, try to avoid things that multiple people come into contact with, like buffet style dining facilities or public computers.

Finally, if a driver does get sick – stop working. You should contact your company’s safety department as soon as you feel ill. Not only are you risking getting someone else sick if you keep working, but it’s also unsafe to operate a rig if you’re sick or fatigued.

No Need to ‘Hoard’ Groceries Amid COVID-19 Concerns Say Experts – Supply Chain Intact

March 31, 2020 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19 have put a strain on the transpiration industry charged with getting food and supplies from point A to point B. Many stores quickly ran out of toilet paper when news of confirmed infections began breaking in the United States.

Seeing empty store shelves in a country where we often encounter abundance can seem ominous. People are facing a lot of uncertainty surrounding this pandemic. Many people are out of work and have had to apply for unemployment. Businesses are shut down and there are certainly some that may not recover. This whole situation has the potential of changing our realities, possibly even permanently.

Fear of the unknown is likely what sent people rushing to their local convenience and grocery stores to buy more toilet paper and paper towels than they will likely use in a year. There was a run on food as well. Grocery aisles emptied out quickly even before the Governor here in Illinois told everyone to stay home. Items with a long shelf life, like rice and pasta went first, along with the inventory of most of your local meat departments. However, it wasn’t long after that stock started to replenish at most stores. The main reason for this is the hard work of our nations professional truck drivers. Thankfully, food production hasn’t stopped, and stores are continuing to receive their shipments of supplies.

After the Governor of Illinois announced the shelter-in-place order, he deemed certain facilities and the people employed by them as “essential,” stating that such would remain open and continue to work. Not only did this category include hospitals and pharmacies, but also restaurants and grocery stores. As a result, professional truck drivers continue to work to deliver supplies to grocery stores and restaurants so that people can get what they need. Additionally, in order to stop others from “hoarding” specific items such as hand sanitizer, soap, toilet paper, paper towels and the like, grocery stores have implemented policies which limit the amount customers may purchase.

Although there are less vehicles on the road due to the “stay-home” orders local governments have been issuing throughout the country during this pandemic, it is still important for truck drivers to be able to practice safe and careful driving when transporting essential goods. If anything, there are a much higher percentage of semi-trucks driving around trying to get supplies delivered to stores than ever before and the last thing that anyone would want to happen is for these trucks and the drivers to get into a crash and possibly be injured. We need truck drivers to be able to do their jobs. However, they need to be able to do so while still following safety rules, including limits on the hours they remain on duty and still meet the needs and demands of each community. Accordingly, government, as well as private trucking companies, must provide truck drivers the ability to get enough rest and not be overworked in order to avoid driving while fatigued. This would ensure the safety of drivers, both truck drivers and other drivers on the road, as well as the arrival of the cargo professional truck drivers are carrying.

In uncertain times like these when some things may be out of our control, we still need to take all the measures we can to prevent crashes and injuries, not only to protect the supply chains that keep us fed, but to allow our hospitals and medical professionals the ability to focus on treating people suffering from this terrible virus.

People Still Need Food and Supplies – Truck Drivers are Essential and We Need to Keep Them Safe Too

March 24, 2020 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Many store shelves have been empty with retailers selling out of essentials as people are legitimately concerned over the spread of COVID-19, commonly referred to as coronavirus. While many people are sheltering in place at home, our economy continues to rely on the trucking industry to transport goods wherever they need to go.

Some states have restricted non-emergency travel and imposed curfews. The safety and health of our communities are, of course, foremost on everyone’s minds. Yet, we still need things to get by. This pandemic has brought on a near shutdown of the American economy and, as I write this, Congress is hopefully finishing negotiations over the proposed stimulus package aimed at propping up businesses and protecting household’s savings accounts, as well as people just managing to get by.

Truck drivers and transportation companies play a vital role in keeping grocery stores stocked and allowing hospitals to replenish supplies. Most every item on a store shelf from produce to paper towels got there on a truck. It is essential that processional truck drivers are able to do their jobs. It won’t be the same as before, of course. Closed restaurants and truck stops will make it hard for drivers to find places to stop to rest or even wash their hands. This is where elected officials in every state need to step in and make sure there are adequate facilities available to drivers and that proper precautions are taken to prevent them from getting sick.

Although the transportation of essential good needs to continue as uninterrupted as possible, every effort should be taken by trucking companies and government to allow drivers the ability to rest when needed and when the law requires. For instance, federal and state laws prohibit trucks from parking on highway shoulders overnight. States that have taken action to limit business operation and travel, must make accommodations for drivers making cross-country trips that require overnight stops.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) website contains information regarding emergency declarations, waivers, exemptions, and permits for drivers. The site continues information about which states have issued emergency declarations and some of the regulatory information associated with that. In addition to check with the FMCSA, drivers and transport companies should check each state’s website where they intend to travel to make sure they are following all local rules as well. FMCSA has also set up a toll free hotline for questions at 1-877-831-2250.

This pandemic is unprecedented. We will likely continue to deal with not only the health and medical emergency resulting from the spread of COVID-19, but also the economic ramifications, as well as continued restrictions on work and travel. As we move forward, we have to understand that we are all in this together. We should continue to do everything we can to try and keep people from getting sick, but we also need to keep I mind that although we are dealing with an extraordinary situation, we must continue to focus on taking precautions in our normal activity, including getting around from place to place when needed, and moving food and goods where they need to go.

Staying healthy from the threat of infections is not our only concern. With the spread of this virus a hospital stay resulting from a car crash could increase someone’s risk of coming into contact with a person seeking treatment for the virus. All the more reason for transportation companies and government to work together to make sure drivers are able to follow safety rules and get the rest they need as well as the facilities they need to be able to do their essential jobs properly.

2020 International Roadchecks Have Been Set for May Fifth Through the Seventh

February 18, 2020 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) an organization that includes both local and national government officials in North America, as well as industry representatives, will be conducting its International Roadcheck this year on May 5-7. The Roadcheck is an initiative meant to focus attention on the importance of commercial vehicle safety through a 72 hour marathon of roadside vehicle inspections throughout North America.

Inspectors will be checking both vehicles and drivers. They will conduct driver interviews, review documents, and check their records and inspection reports. Inspectors will also be looking for signs that a driver may be ill or fatigued, and whether the driver displays any signs of drug or alcohol abuse.

The inspectors will also conduct vehicle inspections to make sure drivers are operating a properly maintained rig. CVSA inspectors will be placing decals on vehicles on which no critical violations are found during their Level I or Level V inspections. However, inspections that do reveal critical violations may be rendered out of service until any violations are corrected.

Some drivers or motor carriers may decide they want to sit out the inspections all together. If you stay off the road in early May there is less of a chance of having to go through an inspection. However, not driving to avoid getting checked is not only unsafe it is also a bad business move.

If you’re not driving, you’re not earning. The purpose of running any efficient transportation business is to make a profit. With plenty of time and a warning of upcoming inspection dates, drivers and motor carriers can prepare to make sure all their logs, records, licenses, certifications, and vehicles are in proper order. A vehicle that doesn’t pass and is put out of commission cannot produce an income. A vehicle that has violations but is hidden from inspectors creates a great safety risk to professional drivers and to the public who use the roads. When a crash happens, you can be certain that there will be law enforcement, government officials, and lawyers scrutinizing over records and conducting inspections to find violations. In these situations, the risk of being put completely out of business is a real consequence that motor carriers can face. Even if the majority of a given company’s fleet is violation free, the part that is not can result in a shutdown.

Chances are that everything we see around us from goods, food, to furniture got to where it is at least in part by a truck. Commercial motor carriers are operating in a business that holds definite risks to public safety and property damage when people do not follow safety rules. If motor carriers or drivers do not follow safety rules and a crash occurs, government inspectors can cause the whole operation to be shut down. Crashes can also lead to insurance rates skyrocketing, making it too expensive to keep the business running.

Public safety is not the only concern when it comes to operating a commercial trucking company. IF a driver gets hurt as the result of an unsafe truck the company that driver works for can incur costs for worker’s compensation and will be short a driver. Additionally, vehicles are expensive. It costs money to fix or replace a damaged truck. Taken as a whole, it will certainly be less expensive to properly maintain a fleet of vehicles and follow all the proper safety rules rather than to cut corners. It’s much less expensive to stay safe than to recoup after a crash. Of course, your life and health are priceless.

California’s AB 5 Law Blocked from Affecting Truckers

February 17, 2020 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

A new California labor law is controversially combatting worker misclassification, and ensuring independent contractors are recognized as employees–but is being temporarily blocked in the trucking industry.

The law would put into place regulation allowing gig economy workers, who often work on a flexible basis, to now be given the same benefits as formal employees. It went into effect on January 1st and is currently seeing heavy pushback from the tech and trucking industries–in which many of these freelancers work–as well as from lawmakers promising to work to change the legislation.

The federal court issued a temporary injunction earlier this month that would prohibit the rules to apply to truck drivers–creating a major issue with federal law.

When Assembly Bill 5 was implemented, it also created a test for whether or not an individual working for a company is an employee or an independent contractor. Consequently, the law means ride-share drivers are treated as if they are exploited by their businesses.

If classified as an employee, the worker must become eligible for full California employment protection, and cannot opt out of the classification regardless of whether or not he or she would prefer to continue working independently.

On the other hand, AB 5 would allow more than a million independent contractors to have rights to health care, a minimum wage, and the ability to join a union. The focus is to disallow companies to circumvent basic labor protections for anyone working for them.

However, with a bar on enforcement for the trucking industry, the question of whether or not states can regulate interstate motor carriers is revisited. Trucking companies are saying the new three-part test is stricter than previous standards, and would block the common use of independent contractors to haul freight–a widely-used practice in the industry to find independent owner-operators to carry out interstate jobs.

“With AB 5, California runs off the road and into the preemption ditch of the FAAAA,” wrote Judge Roger T. Benitez of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California in a Thursday ruling on a lawsuit filed by the California Trucking Association, along with truckers Ravinder Singh and Thomas Odom.

The judge blocked the state from enforcing the law on California motor carriers in a preliminary injunction “pending the entry of final judgment in this action.”

Judge Benitez wrote that there is “little question that the State of California has encroached on Congress’ territory by eliminating motor carriers’ choice to use independent contractor drivers, a choice at the very heart of interstate trucking.”

The court concluded that to allow enforcement on owner-operator truckers would bring about irreparable harm to the industry. According to the judge, unless companies change “their business operations to treat independent-contractor drivers as employees for all specified purposes under California laws and regulations,” they will risk potential criminal and civil penalties.

Although the injunction is only at a preliminary stage, it is not likely the state will prevail if the case does ever end up in trial. Additionally, the judge’s finding that the plaintiffs would most likely see victory will put enormous pressure on California to find a different angle on this issue.

The order could also affect similar potential proposals in other states, and deter the groups currently working to see these regulations take place elsewhere.

Shawn Yadon, California Trucking Association chief executive officer, said this ruling is “a significant win for California’s more than 70,000 independent owner-operators.”

Many companies with ride-share and delivery drivers, such as Uber and Postmates, say AB 5’s exemptions deem the law “irrational” and a violation of equal protection.

Although the bill’s main sponsor says its goal is to protect the “more than a million Californians” who “have been misclassified by employers looking to cut costs at the expense of workers,” how can anyone know which workers are truly misclassified when we don’t know exactly what they want? Many workers will continue to prefer an independent contractor’s flexibility.

Although the statute is legal, that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily a good idea. As of now, it may be the case that some gig workers do experience exploitation for the companies they work for–but is the solution to take the freedom to choose away from everyone else?