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Teamsters, safety groups urge Obama to veto HOS easement bill
US President Barrack Obama has been urged by Teamsters union 18 safety groups to veto legislation that eases the current hours of service regulations.
The groups are worried that such legislation might be tacked on to an omnibus spending bill, reports American Shipper.
"The omnibus should not be a testing ground for policies that denigrate highway safety and further deteriorate our crumbling infrastructure," said Teamsters boss James Hoffa.
"Trucking and shipping interests are relentlessly pushing an anti-safety agenda that is dangerous, deadly and unprecedented in its assault on public health and safety," said the Teamsters letter to Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx.
The Teamsters said the trucking industry is trying to get truck weight exemptions passed and is demanding state legislation to allow longer trucks on the road.
Furthermore, it is calling for the scrapping of the HOS rule "by eliminating the two-day weekend off-duty for truck drivers to rest, thereby dramatically increasing the working and driving hours of truck drivers."
The groups also sent a letter to leaders of the appropriations committees in the Senate and House.
Citizens for Reliable and Safe Highways equated the industry's quest to roll-back safety measures to the fight for more corporate tax breaks.
"President Obama took a bold stance objecting to legislation being negotiated to extend expiring tax breaks for well-connected corporations while neglecting working families," it said.
"Similarly, we urge the White House to reject any funding bill that puts greedy special interest exemptions for well-connected corporate trucking and shipping interests before the safety of millions of innocent American families and truck drivers on our streets and highways every day," it said
The groups are worried that such legislation might be tacked on to an omnibus spending bill, reports American Shipper.
"The omnibus should not be a testing ground for policies that denigrate highway safety and further deteriorate our crumbling infrastructure," said Teamsters boss James Hoffa.
"Trucking and shipping interests are relentlessly pushing an anti-safety agenda that is dangerous, deadly and unprecedented in its assault on public health and safety," said the Teamsters letter to Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx.
The Teamsters said the trucking industry is trying to get truck weight exemptions passed and is demanding state legislation to allow longer trucks on the road.
Furthermore, it is calling for the scrapping of the HOS rule "by eliminating the two-day weekend off-duty for truck drivers to rest, thereby dramatically increasing the working and driving hours of truck drivers."
The groups also sent a letter to leaders of the appropriations committees in the Senate and House.
Citizens for Reliable and Safe Highways equated the industry's quest to roll-back safety measures to the fight for more corporate tax breaks.
"President Obama took a bold stance objecting to legislation being negotiated to extend expiring tax breaks for well-connected corporations while neglecting working families," it said.
"Similarly, we urge the White House to reject any funding bill that puts greedy special interest exemptions for well-connected corporate trucking and shipping interests before the safety of millions of innocent American families and truck drivers on our streets and highways every day," it said
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