U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said President Donald Trump’s April Executive Order would bring back commonsense “rules of the road” for America’s truck drivers.
On Friday, Duffy unveiled a package of new initiatives, pilot programs and regulatory updates to improve truck drivers’ lives, from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). The package includes millions in federal funding to expand truck parking, efforts to remove one-size-fits-all mandates, and work to modernize resources and slash red tape.
“Truckers keep America running. While the country sleeps, truckers grind through the night to help keep shelves stocked, families fed, and businesses humming. It’s a job that requires grit and dedication,” Duffy said. “But for too long Washington, DC has made work harder for truckers. That ends today. Thanks to President Trump, we’re getting Washington out of your trucks and your business.”
Duffy said the USDOT would provide more than $275 million in grant funding to expand parking access for truck drivers nationwide, which includes $180 million for Florida to add 917 new truck parking spaces in Volusia, Seminole and Osceola counties.
Specific to truck parking, USDOT is set to deliver more than $275 million in grant funding to expand parking access for truck drivers nationwide – an investment which will enhance safety and improve quality of life for truckers. This includes $180 million for Florida to add 917 new truck parking spaces along the I-4 corridor in Volusia, Seminole, and Osceola Counties.
The package also includes action by the FMCSA to remove regulations and provide drivers with more control over their own operations, including the withdrawal of rulemaking that would require speed-limiting devices on heavy vehicles. The FMCSA said withdrawing the rule “respects the professionalism of drivers and acknowledges the proposed rulemaking lacked a sufficiently clear and compelling safety justification.”
In 2016, the FMCSA and the National Highway Transportation Safety Board proposed the rule requiring vehicles weighing more than 26,000 pounds be equipped with a device that limited their speed to between 60 and 68 miles per hour. At the time, the FMCSA said its review of available data found that the joint rulemaking would “reduce the severity of crashes involving these vehicles and reduce the resulting fatalities and injuries.” Officials now say the limiters create a safety hazard when drivers are forced to go slower than the flow of traffic.
Other initiatives include slashing red tape and eliminating burdensome regulations, eliminate more than 1,800 words from federal regulations, not extending the Electronic Logging Device mandate to pre-2000 model year trucks, and renewing FMCSA’s focus on combating double brokering.
Trucking groups support Duffy’s package.
“We thank the Trump Administration and Secretary Duffy for their continued focus on the issues impacting America’s trucking industry,” President and CEO of American Trucking Associations Chris Spear said. “As the leading mover of the nation’s freight, the concerns of our industry not only impact the 8.5 million Americans who work throughout trucking, but they also affect the countless businesses and families we serve across the country. A safe and strong trucking industry is critical to America’s economic growth and security, and data-driven measures like these that reduce regulatory burdens are important steps toward that end.”