Last Updated: April 26, 2012

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Roemer Report – November 2011

BACK IN OUR September Roemer Report we reported U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood’s signing of an agreement with his Mexican counterpart over to provide for reciprocal authority for U.S. companies to engage in long-haul operations into Mexico and vice versa. In our analysis, we concluded “this was likely a better deal for Mexican truckers than for U.S. carriers.” Apparently, the Teamsters came to the same conclusion filing suit against the U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. The suit alleges that the Mexican agreement breaks a number of U.S. laws mostly wrapped around safety and environmental requirements. Teamster president James Hoffa summed up the unions position saying that “Congress has repeatedly and overwhelmingly set stringent safety conditions for any cross-border trucking program, and this one clearly doesn’t meet those conditions.” In addition to a double-standard in safety standards, the proposed agreement is also a U.S. job killer in Hoffa’s view. As the U.S. was planning to roll out a pilot cross-border program in the next few months, the Teamster suit will likely result in at least a temporary injunction as the government regroups on its agreement position. Stay tuned to the Roemer Report for more breaking news on this story.

WE HAVEN’T USED THE WORD BIPARTISAN much lately, but in the first week in September The U.S. House of Representatives approved an extension to continue programs for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as well as for federal highway, transit and highway safety programs. While the legislation offers at least a hint that Congress can get things done, House Bill 2887 is unfortunately just an extension to the ongoing programs and not a long term revamping. It is our hope that Congress will continue to push for a revamped federal highway bill that will improve our interstate infrastructure prior to this extensions expiration in 2012.

HOLD THE PHONE. The National Traffic Safety Transportation Board is calling for a ban on truck drivers using cell phones while driving. The NTSB proposed the ban after ruling a vehicle crash in Kentucky in 2010, in which 11 people died, was because a truck driver crossed the median while distracted by his cell phone. South Carolina Trucking Association President Rick Todd for one believes the NTSB's call for a cell phone ban on truck drivers is somewhat of an overreaction to the deadly crash in Kentucky, but not an unusual reaction. "Typically most changes in laws or safety usually come as a reaction to some bad accident," says Todd. The federal government has not made a decision to ban truck drivers from using cell phones yet. NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman said similar recommendations about phone use have already been made in aviation and for ship operators. "It may not be something that's widely embraced. This is not going to be popular. But, we're not here to be popular. We're here to do what needs to be done," Hersman said.

HOS CHANGES ON THE HOOK. On Friday, Sept 2, following the Obama Administration's decision to abandon a costly, proposed EPA regulation, the American Truckers Associations sent a letter to the White House's Office of Management & Budget urging the Administration’s head of regulatory affairs to do the same with the proposed HOS changes. Citing deleterious effects caused by the HOS proposal including a loss of pay and added administrative costs, the ATA’s letter may be timed right, especially in a climate of job and wage stimulation proposals. The Roemer Report will be following this proposal as it moves forward.

WE”VE BEEN TALKING HEALTHY for a long time in the Roemer Report, so why a story about pork rinds? These succulent but can’t-be-good-for-you snacks are probably okay in moderation have made the Roemer Report journalistic cut because of a recent story about a pork-rind manufacturer in Wapakoneta, OH who recently started giving out the salty pork snacks to show appreciation for the truckers that deliver the goods. Rudolph Foods marketing manager Amanda Helmstetter says the company's snacks would not reach consumers if truckers didn't deliver them. To show its appreciation, Rudolph had about a half-dozen employees hand out bags of spicy, barbecue and traditional pork rinds to drivers at a truck stop in Wapakoneta near the company's western Ohio headquarters. Hats off to Rudolph Foods for recognizing the importance of trucking.

There is no distinctly American criminal class - except Congress. - Mark Twain