"If you're really concerned about safety numbers, we want zero fatalities, we want all these things to happen ... we have to train people, we have to pay people, and we have to give them a safe place to rest. That's the first three things we should be doing, and until we do that, we're never going to fix highway safety. It's never going to get better." --OOIDA Executive Vice President Lewie Pugh
The good news is that, according to Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association Executive Vice President Lewie Pugh, federal regulators are finally listening to truckers and other small-business interests in their push toward safety improvement, leaving behind old notions of a driver shortage. Pugh contends the notion has for decades influenced the credentialing and training system such that drivers are too often rushed into the business, with likewise too-often-terrible outcomes.
In this week's edition of Overdrive Radio, track through parts of our talk with Pugh on those new federal attitudes in evidence at last week's Mid-America Trucking Show, where regulators showed plenty willingness to engage with owner-ops in attendance.
Also in the podcast, Pugh emphasizes OOIDA's variety of priorities with respect to the administration, offering a rundown of some positivity in the broader freight markets, even after the dramatic escalation of fuel prices after the Iran conflict. We all found a measure guarded optimism among owner-operators in attendance, yet plenty of hope the conflict draws down quickly and pump prices with it.
[Related: Owner-op income up, with 'capacity-driven recovery ongoing,' fuel cost wildcard]
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Rivera Lujan was brought to the U.S. as a child, and with another Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals-protected non-citizen he was able to communicate his quandary at MATS to officials as high as Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. In some ways, there could be hope for folks like him, even with the non-domiciled CDL rule change in effect since March 16.
After getting no response from the court on its most-recent request for stay, plaintiffs in the case against the rule have filed for expedited review by the D.C. appeals circuit as of about a week ago, and time will tell on that front. Meantime, owners like Rivera Lujan and others impacted explore other avenues for their futures, Rivera's experience at MATS an eye-opening one in regard to opportunities all around trucking.
Pugh stands by the non-domiciled rule change as written, generally, yet also noted "this is unfortunately the reality we live in in our country. ... Whatever we do it seems like it goes too far one way or the other, and innocent people who are trying to do the right thing get caught up in it. People smarter than me write these rules and regs, and they probably have reasons we don't understand.
"It's almost impossible to write a catch-all law. It's a shame for [Rivera Lujan]. Hopefully they get something in there to change that or that could help." Take a listen:
Keep tuned for more from Pugh on the federal broker transparency rule's delay and the association's efforts in Congress, including prospects for a highway bill this year, in next week's podcast.
