The Heavy Hauler

SC&RA Posts Latest Motor Fuel Tax Rates on Web Site (top)

For a complete list of current state and provincial motor fuel tax rates for heavy vehicles, check the SC&RA Web site. Click on the "Current Fuel Tax Rates" heading in the "What's New" section.

AHUA Opposes Several Anti-Truck Provisions in Senate Bill (top)

Senators John Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) and Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) have recently introduced the Federal Surface Transportation Policy and Planning Act of 2009 (S. 1036), which includes several disturbing anti-motorist and anti-truck provisions, according to a legislative alert issued on June 4 by the American Highway Users Alliance (AHUA). “Although there are some good ideas in the bill, we have identified several key provisions that need to be stripped out before highway users should support it,” said AHUA.
First, the bill proposes limitations on vehicle miles traveled (VMT), which means that drivers would have to reduce the amount they drive or potentially give up their cars altogether, noted AHUA. This would also require the federal government to develop intrusive policies in an attempt to alter behavior and personal choice, continued the alert.
"This provision would have particularly heavy impacts on low-income Americans, for whom car ownership and mobility provides access to many more job opportunities, shopping and recreation than could be accessed by alternate modes of travel," said AHUA.
Additionally, AHUA opposes a provision that would mandate a tremendous shift of freight from thousands of truck companies on publicly-owned highway system to the nation's private rail network and its limited number of carriers. Said AHUA: "For consumers whose deliveries are moved from truck to rail, this would cause slower, indirect product deliveries. For those in need of speedy deliveries handled by trucks, they can expect much higher delivery costs. For those forced to use rail, this would exacerbate an already serious problem of shippers being ‘held hostage’ by railroad shipping rates.”
AHUA also opposes the legislation's intent "to grant extremely broad 'czar-like' authority to the U.S. Secretary of Transportation to implement these onerous provisions." AHLU pointed out that the Secretary would be empowered to change existing DOT programs, re-write planning regulations, and adjust funding priorities to meet the goals of the bill.
SC&RA encourages its member to take action now and contact your Senators to oppose this legislation. To begin, click here. You may also call your Senators at (202) 224-3121 today on these critical issues.

Issues $22.75 Million Personal Injury Verdict against Broker

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On March 20, an Illinois jury returned a verdict of $22.75 million against a Minnesota-based transportation broker in personal injury litigation over a 2004 crash on Interstate 55. The jury expressly found that the truck driver in the crash was the broker's agent.
Plaintiffs offered direct evidence that the broker owned the cargo on the truck and cited damaging public representations from the broker's Securities and Exchange Commission reports and Web site suggesting that the broker assumed responsibility for the truck's operation. Plaintiffs also offered proof that the broker directly tendered the load to the owner-operator driver, advanced her $700 for fuel, and used a load confirmation sheet that identified 10 "mandatory" rules for the driver and three separate "fines" for her noncompliance with the broker's rules.
Such practices—and the verdict they produced—confirm that brokers face unwarranted exposure if they do not vigilantly separate their activities from those of the carriers they hire, according to William D. Brajcha, an attorney in the Chicago office of Scopelitis, Garvin, Light, Hanson & Feary.

Alabama Vehicle Permit Office Expands Hours of Operation (top)

Beginning June 15, the Alabama Oversize and Overweight Vehicle Permit Office will expand its hours of operation to better serve the trucking industry. The new hours are Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Previously, the hours began an hour later and ended an hour earlier. The office also will operate during the five state-specific holidays: Robert E. Lee/Martin Luther King Birthday; George Washington/Thomas Jefferson Birthday; Confederate Memorial Day; Jefferson Davis Birthday and Columbus Day
Expect Lane Closures, Shifts on I-495 Lanes in Northern Virginia (top) Bridge and overpass activity will require lane closures and lane shifts during the first full summer of construction for the I-495 High-Occupancy Toll (HOT) Lanes project in the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C. This project is replacing each bridge and overpass on the beltway for a 14-mile course from Springfield to just north of the Dulles Toll Road.
This summer will bring intense demolition activity to eight bridges and overpasses, along with day, night and occasional full-time lane closures at night. Lane shifts are common along the project area — under bridges such as Leesburg Pike (Route 7) and Little River Turnpike (Route 236) — to give crews more room to safely build the bridges.Full-time lane closures are needed where bridge piers are under construction and there is no room to shift lanes outward, such as under the beltway at Route 123 (Chain Bridge Road) and at Arlington Boulevard (Route 50). Overnight work usually takes multiple lanes. This keeps workers and motorists safe. Nighttime traffic is significantly lighter than daytime traffic and crews take advantage of this time to conduct major bridge demolition, steel removal and steel erection. Visit the Virginia Megaprojects website to stay up to date on these types of closures.