Trucking news and briefs for Wednesday, May 20, 2020:
OOIDA files petition calling for improved broker transparency
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association is calling on the Department of Transportation to take action to improve broker transparency.
In a petition filed to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration on Tuesday, May 19, OOIDA calls for a rulemaking that would require brokers to automatically provide an electronic copy of each transaction record within 48 hours of the contractual service being completed, and to prohibit brokers from including provisions in their contracts that requires carriers to waive their rights to access the transaction records as required by 49 CFR 371.3. The petition urged a clear-cut system of enforcement by way of “a structured fine system that would penalize non-compliance” with the regulation.
Queries to FMCSA about administrative enforcement mechanisms that may exist today went unanswered as of press time.
“Brokers have been deliberately skirting federal transparency regulations for decades,” said Todd Spencer, president and CEO of OOIDA. “We certainly don’t think exempting yourself from federal regulations is legal, but this is precisely what is happening. It has to stop. We realize some brokers might not like the regulations, but that doesn’t give them the right to blatantly skirt them without any recourse.”
OOIDA earlier this month sent a letter to Congress requesting similar provisions be added to a COVID-19 relief bill. The provisions were not included in a bill passed May 15 by the House that is currently with the Senate.
EchoDrive Preferred customers now receive TruckPark discounts
A new partnership between transportation management service Echo Global Logistics and TruckPark now allows EchoDrive preferred members to access TruckPark’s network of overnight truck parking resources at a discounted rate.
