The Most Opposed Trucking Mandates of 2019

There have been many regulations or amendments to regulations that were introduced during the first decade of the 2000’s. A key advocate for truckers, The Owner Operators Independent Drivers Association, has continued to work with other groups such as trade associations to oppose bill and regulatory actions that would impose burdensome mandates on trucking operations and small business truck owners in particular.   

OODIA explicitly declares their “opposition to a series of bills that would impose tens-of-billions of dollars in unfunded mandates on American businesses engaged in trucking…Collectively, these proposals neglect the diverse operations and working conditions of our members [owner operators] and would mandate extremely costly and excessively burdensome one-size-fits-all requirements. Perhaps most concerning, these bills would do nothing to improve highway safety.” 

So, let’s look at the most opposed trucking mandates of 2019 and trucker’s top concerns in more detail:

Hours of Service (HOS)

• 14-hour clock provision: prohibits driving after the 14th consecutive hour after first coming on duty following 10 consecutive hours off duty. Of those 14 hours, up to 11 can be spent driving. Opposers believe a more flexible option would better promote safety by letting the driver decide when to rest and when to drive.
• Split sleeper berth restriction: The required rest period in the sleeper berth must be at least 8 consecutive hours (but less than 10 consecutive hours). This rest period does not count against your 14-hour on duty clock. The other, separate rest period must be at least 2 consecutive hours long. The rigid “8 and/or 2” hour requirement is conducive to safety. Rather, a larger window for driver choice would improve safety.
• 30-minute mandatory rest break: many believe a mandated 30-minute rest break is needed to promote safety and that driver options should be expanded. More parking and flexible 14-hour rule options would promote safety by allowing a driver to rest when NEEDED rather than when mandated.

Speed Limiters

S2033, would require commercial motor vehicles weighing more than 26,000lbs to be equipped with speed limiters set at 65 mph. Supporters of the Act state that “Studies have consistently demonstrated that increasing interactions between vehicles directly increases the likelihood of crashes.”

The opposition argues that speed limiters make a driver’s life more difficult and less safe: driver needs to have the ability to accelerate to make lane changes, to pass, especially on 2 lane roads, and to simply avoid unsafe situations. Further, there are multiple states where the speed limit is as high as 80 miles per hour and that means trucks would be traveling at rates of speed that are as much as 20 miles below the posted limit, impeding the flow of traffic.

Raising Insurance Requirements

This piece of legislation would raise the federal minimum insurance requirement for motor carriers from $750,000 to nearly $5 million and would to adjust the rate every five years to consider inflation costs related to medical care.

The OOIDA and the other groups argue that the act is a cash grab from trial lawyers to receive higher payouts, and that data indicate the current minimum insurance levels adequately over 99.94% of crashes.

Truck Parking

OOIDA is working on implementing Jason’s Law, a part of the MAP-21 Highway bill. This Law would expand and improve private and public truck parking spaces. Parking is noted as a critical safety issue by many groups and the lack of parking currently is not ensuring enough adequate places for truckers to rest and is not ensuring trucker safety.

Truck Size & Weight

Increasing truck size and weight limits translates to higher costs for small business truckers. Small business truckers oppose efforts by major motor carriers and shippers to increase truck size and weight limits. If size or weight increases are allowed, they will force truckers to upgrade to remain competitive. While large fleets can absorb these increased costs or segment out a portion of their fleet to serve heavier loads, small business truckers lack that luxury. Increased costs include: fuel costs, insurance premiums, repair bills, and taxes and other gov’t fees.

One of the most important points that the OOIDA and other stakeholders who oppose these regulations make is that supporters of these mandates typically know virtually nothing about trucking, and they do not consider the fallout from legislation: safety threats, capacity crunches, and economic impacts to many industries.

To Read more about the work that the OOIDA to push organization of opposition. Check out You can read all about them on their website, FightingforTruckers.com