U.S. Legislative Issues

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, along with 33 other transportation, business, labor, and travel groups are calling on the major presidential candidates to include long-term, sustainable funding measures in their infrastructure plans. In letters to Mr. Trump and Secretary Clinton, the groups argued that finding ways to pay for future improvements to the nation’s transportation infrastructure will boost employment levels and economic growth.

The October 5 letters also emphasized the failure of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, passed in 2015, to ensure the long-term solvency of the Highway Trust Fund, the source of most federal funding for highway, transit, and other surface transportation projects in the U.S. This shortcoming, they argued, has made it difficult for many state and local transportation officials to plan and fund transportation projects, which further undermines the impact of the new law.

"We believe that an infrastructure package needs to include, as a foundation, additional sustainable revenue to ensure the permanent solvency of the Highway Trust Fund," the letter states. "The additional revenue sources must be long-term, reliable, dedicated and focused on the users and beneficiaries of our transportation network to support the increased investment provided under your infrastructure proposal."

The groups also offered assistance with enacting the candidates’ plans: "Our industries stand ready to work with you to ensure any new infrastructure investment proposal you offer has the greatest possible impact on our nation’s economy and transportation network."



Long-awaited final rules regarding entry-level driver training standards and the establishment of a national drug and alcohol clearinghouse should be issued by the end of 2016, according to remarks made by Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) Administrator T. F. Scott Darling at the American Trucking Associations’ Management Conference and Exhibition on October 3. Specifically, Darling said the rules are currently under view at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), which is traditionally the last stop for rules before they become active regulations.

FMCSA issued a proposed version of the entry-level driver rule last March. The final rule, the result of a negotiated rulemaking process, is expected to be based on consensus recommendations made by a committee of major industry stakeholders and safety advocacy groups. The final rule will likely require training of interstate and intrastate drivers obtaining their first commercial driver’s license (CDL), upgrading their CDL, or obtaining a hazardous materials, passenger, or school bus endorsement. The rulemaking is also expected to require both classroom and behind-the-wheel training, conducted by providers that meet certain criteria and are listed on an FMCSA provider registry.

The proposed rule for a drug and alcohol clearinghouse, first proposed in February 2014, would require carriers to report to FMCSA failed drug tests and test refusals of CDL holders. Carriers would also be required to consult the database when making new hires and once a year for existing drivers. Lastly, it would require carriers to report traffic citations for drivers cited as driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.



Hoping to reverse the dramatic increase in highway fatalities in 2015, the U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) have joined forces with the National Safety Council to launch the Road to Zero Coalition with the specific goal of ending auto-related fatalities on the nation's roads within the next 30 years. The group noted that last year, U.S. traffic deaths rose by 7.2 percent – the biggest jump in 50 years – and that preliminary estimates for the first half of 2016 indicate a 10.4 percent bump compared to the same period in 2015.

NAFA attended and participated in the Coalition’s formal launch in Washington, DC on October 5. As part of this event, the Road to Zero Coalition announced its plan to initially focus on promoting proven lifesaving strategies, including improving seat belt use, installing rumble strips, truck safety, behavior change campaigns and data-driven enforcement. DOT said the Coalition will then lead the development of a new scenario-based vision on how to achieve zero traffic deaths based on evidence-based strategies and a systematic approach to eliminating risks.

With the rapid introduction of automated vehicles and advanced technologies, the DOT said it now believes that it is increasingly likely that the vision of zero road deaths and serious injuries can be achieved in the next 30 years. In that vein, the Coalition said it will work to accelerate the achievement of that vision through concurrent efforts that focus on overall system design, addressing infrastructure design, vehicle technology, enforcement and behavior safety. An important principle of the effort, DOT continued, will be to find ways to ensure that inevitable human mistakes do not result in fatalities.