In response to comments from the Trump Administration that stated excessive regulations had unnecessary costs with few benefits, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) released a statement last week in support of the White House plan to reduce industry regulations.
Specifically, the administration said that small businesses disproportionately bear the cost of complying with regulations and, rather than encouraging business development and investment, excessive regulation discourages small business growth.
“We agree with the White House’s statement that burdensome regulations have an immense impact on small businesses,” Todd Spencer, executive vice president of OOIDA, said. “In particular, the trucking industry, which is primarily made up of small businesses, is potentially harmed the most.”
The group’s statement comes after a recent industry push to delay a mandate on electronic logging devices which coincided with demonstrators by truck drivers in Washington, D.C. In total, more than 30 organizations spoke out against the mandate, with a group of drivers sharing their concerns with congressional lawmakers.
Spencer said that the mandate was estimated to cost impacted stakeholders more than $2 billion, which made it one of the most expensive federal transportation rulemakings over the last decade.
“This is a massive, unfunded mandate that provides no safety, economic, or productivity benefits for most ensnared by the mandate,” Spencer said. “That is just one example of a costly policy that truckers contend with that has no bearing on safety.”