Owner Operator Independent Driver Association

Owner-operators reject weight-based road user fees

WASHINGTON — A weight- and route-based user charge directed at the trucking industry is a nonstarter as far as many owner-operators are concerned.

That variant of a “user pays” funding model was offered up on Capitol Hill this week by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) as lawmakers again try to figure out how to shore up the Highway Trust Fund. At the current pace, the HTF will run out of money by 2028, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

Repr...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/owner-operators-reject-weight-based-road-user-fees

Trump to require that truckers speak and read English

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WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump plans to sign an executive order on Monday requiring that truck drivers be able to speak English or be placed out of service.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed via social media a Breitbart report on the anticipated order.

“Today @POTUS and I will be making a big announcement to make our roadways safer and put American truckers first,” Duffy posted, linking to the report.

Stay tuned! Today @POTUS and I will be making a big announcement to make our...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/trump-to-require-that-truckers-speak-and-read-english

OOIDA makes now-solo case in court that California’s AB5 should exempt trucking

What is likely to be the final industry battle challenging California’s AB5 regulation that defines  independent contractor status now awaits a ruling from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which already once upheld the law’s jurisdiction over trucking.

Oral arguments were heard earlier this month before a three-judge panel. The roughly 40 minutes of questions and answers in the case by the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association touched on arguments that had not been heavily...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/ooida-makes-now-solo-case-in-court-that-californias-ab5-should-exempt-trucking

House panel debates ELD certification, truck weight limits

WASHINGTON — Stakeholders in the trucking industry are jockeying for position on Capitol Hill as lawmakers begin prioritizing provisions to include in the next version of highway funding legislation.

A slate of issues were raised at a hearing Wednesday of a House Transportation subcommittee, including truck parking, freight fraud, driver pay and “fly-by-night” CDL schools, but increasing truck size and weights and evaluating the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s oversight of...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/house-panel-debates-eld-certification-truck-weight-limits

Trump nominates trucking official to head FMCSA

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has nominated Derek Barrs of Florida to be administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, according to Senate documents published on Tuesday.

Derek Barrs. Credit: Flagler County School Board

Barrs, who was appointed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in October to the School Board of Flagler County, is a member of the American Trucking Associations’ Law Enforcement Advisory Board, as well as a member of the Florida Trucking Association,...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/trump-nominates-trucking-official-to-head-fmcsa

Lawmakers reintroduce anti-fraud freight bill

WASHINGTON — The growing threat of freight fraud in trucking has led to another effort by Congress to crack down on scammers that steal millions from legitimate brokers and motor carriers.

Bipartisan legislation introduced in the House of Representatives by Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, Washington’s nonvoting delegate in the House, would give the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration more power over fake companies attempting to register with the agency.

Specifically, the Household...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/lawmakers-reintroduce-anti-fraud-freight-bill

Regulators deny roadside warning exemption for autonomous trucks

WASHINGTON — Federal regulators ruled that autonomous trucking did not provide enough data backing a request to allow traditional warning devices used in roadside breakdowns to be replaced by cab-mounted beacons.

Waymo LLC and Aurora Operations (NASDAQ: AUR) filed a petition in 2023 with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration seeking an exemption – on behalf of the autonomous trucking industry – from rules requiring drivers to display ground-based reflective signs or road flares when a...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/regulators-deny-roadside-warning-exemption-for-autonomous-trucks

California AG makes case against OOIDA’s legal battle to stop AB5

California’s attorney general has fired back at the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association in a federal appeals court, saying OOIDA’s arguments against the state’s independent contractor law, AB5, are “simply wrong in asserting [that the law] … effectively prohibits an entire sector of small business truckers from operating in California.”

OOIDA is alone now in the legal battle against the imposition of AB5 against trucking. The California Trucking Association launched the original...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/california-ag-makes-case-against-ooidas-legal-battle-to-stop-ab5

ATA chief rips OOIDA stance on Biden independent contractor rule

Lewie Pugh of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association made only a few comments at his House of Representatives committee appearance July 24 about the Biden administration’s independent contractor (IC) rule. 

But they were enough to draw a strong rebuke from Chris Spear, president of the American Trucking Associations. Spear took to ATA’s Transport Topics website last week to express his displeasure with OOIDA and the comments by Pugh, who is an executive vice president of OOIDA and inc...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/ata-chief-rips-ooida-stance-on-biden-independent-contractor-rule

House lawmakers introduce bill to combat freight fraud

WASHINGTON — A bipartisan bill to crack down on scam freight brokers and trucking companies is receiving rare, near-unanimous support from all sectors of the industry.

The Household Goods Shipping Consumer Protection Act, introduced by Democratic Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, Washington’s nonvoting delegate in the House, and Rep. Mike Ezell, R-Miss., targets fraudulent actors in the household goods sector.

However, new, stricter registration requirements and enforcement provisions in the...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/house-lawmakers-introduce-bill-to-combat-freight-fraud

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