These industry problems may be solved in 2023

December 30, 20220

The Federal Highway Transportation Safety Administration and Congress are expected to put forward regulatory and legislative policies that will help to solve a number of industry issues.

Truck parking

The passage of a law that provides grants for the expansion of truck parking received support in recent meetings of Congress. The Senate, in turn, introduced a companion bill earlier this month.

Truck parking bills, like all bills that haven’t been passed in the current Congress, need to be re-introduced. But proponents of truck parking expansion will be keen to build on recent progress.

Unique IDs for trucks

In 2023, the FMCSA plans to implement “unique IDs” on trucks to make transport checks more efficient using wireless technology.

However, the proposal caused great controversy among industry representatives. The FMCSA is considering providing the new identity system with information such as hours of operation, CDL compliance, and medical certifications.

Speed limiters

The announcement of the proposal to use electronic devices to limit the speed of trucks in 2023 made truckers tense up.

The FMCSA notification received more than 14000 responses from independent owner-operators and transport companies who strongly oppose the change.

Due to the fact that vehicles will move at different speeds, an increase in accidents on the road is possible. Not everyone shares this opinion. Major trucking companies and some security groups maintain a 70 mph speed limit.

Overtime pay

Discussions about this bill lasted throughout the year.

A law that requires carrier employers to pay drivers for overtime (the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) currently exempts them from having to do this for many drivers) remains a priority for OOIDA.

The Biden administration also supported this rulemaking.

Access to toilets for truckers

The Toilet Access Act adds language to federal law that requires businesses and ports to make their toilets available to truck drivers. The rulemaking is based on a law passed earlier this year in the state of Washington.

So far, the ban on access to toilets is maintained (or granted on a voluntary basis), so the trucking industry believes that this problem should be addressed in the near future.