Linda Garner-Bunch

MULBERRY, Ark. — Arkansas authorities said Monday, Aug. 30, that they still don’t know how a trucker, whose body was found more than a week ago inside his rig in the Arkansas River, died. First responders found the body Marcus Brian Hill, 55, of Ozark, Arkansas, on Sunday, Aug. 22, after pulling his truck to shore on Vine Road near Mulberry, according to the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office. Sheriff’s office Captain James Mirus said most of the vehicle was submerged when investigators arrived at the scene just before 9 p.m. Aug. 22. He said waterflow made it difficult for first responders to recover the semi. Mirus said on Monday that Hill’s body has been sent to the Arkansas State Crime Lab for further investigation. “Right now, we are waiting on that report,” Mirus said. “After that, we will have more information.” An Aug. 23 Facebook post by The Mulberry Fire Department showed photos of the wrecked rig. The tractor was fully submerged, up to the front section of the trailer. There were several comments on the post as well. Ray Crozier Sr. wrote that Hill was his best friend. “I would like some answers,” Crozier wrote. Facebook user Kayla Hatfield described Hill as a “nice guy. Known him for most of my life. I’m proud of the workers that people that helped pull the truck and trailer out of the water. But you will forever be missed.”

The much-debated $1 trillion bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act was passed by the U.S. Senate Aug. 10 with a vote of 69-30. Nineteen Republican senators joined Democrats to swing the equally divided legislature for the passage of the 2,700-page bill. The bill’s next stop will be the U.S. House of Representatives, which is in recess until mid-September. Under the provisions of the bill, $110 billion of the $1 trillion in funding would go to the nation’s roads and bridges; $40 billion of that $110 billion is earmarked for bridges. Folded into the Senate’s bill are several provisions that would directly impact the trucking industry, including: A vehicle-miles-traveled (VMT) pilot program for both commercial and passenger vehicles; An under-21 apprenticeship pilot program that would allow younger drivers to engage in interstate commerce; A driver compensation study that would examine the impacts of different methods of compensation on safety as well as driver retention; The formation of a Women of Trucking Advisory board to encourage women to enter the industry; The creation of a Truck Leasing Task Force to examine truck-leasing and lease-purchase agreements between motor carriers and owner-operators to help prevent predatory practices; and A comprehensive study on the causes of and contributing factors of commercial vehicle crashes; An automatic emergency braking (AEB) mandate that would require all new commercial vehicles to be equipped with AEB technology within two years; and A requirement that rear trailer underride guard standards be strengthened. This measure also calls for research on the effectiveness and impact of side underride guards, as well as the formation of an Advisory Committee on Underride Protection. Two items that are notably absent from the Senate’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act are funding for additional safe truck parking across the nation and an increase in minimum insurance requirements for motor carriers. While the omission of truck parking funding is generally considered a “minus” to most in the trucking industry, many trucking companies would undoubtedly breathe a sigh of relief that the controversial proposal to increase minimum liability insurance requirements from $750,000 to $2 million does not appear in the Senate bill. Following the passage of the bill by the senate, representatives from trucking industry associations spoke out, including the American Trucking Associations (ATA), the Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) and the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA). “For nearly three decades, our nation and industry have been held hostage by empty promises — all talk, no action. Today, the Senate put America ahead of itself,” said Chris Spear, president and CEO of ATA. “Passage of this bipartisan infrastructure bill is a groundbreaking step toward revitalizing America’s decaying roads and bridges, supporting our supply chain and economy with the foundation they need to grow, compete globally and lead the world,” he continued. “The bill also contains significant measures to grow and strengthen trucking’s essential workforce.” TCA also applauded the passage of the bipartisan legislation. “TCA is very pleased to see the infrastructure bill pass through the Senate, and we commend our elected leaders for taking a bipartisan approach to this much-needed investment in our nation’s transportation network,” said Kathryn Pobre, manager of government affairs for TCA. “We know this is not the finish line for this legislation, and so we encourage the House of Representatives to quickly pass the bill,” she said. “Our nation’s workforce of trucking heroes should not be forced to wait any longer for repairs and safety improvements to the roads and bridges which serve as their 24/7 workplace, and our country’s citizens deserve an infrastructure system which will ensure the goods and services upon which they rely are not delayed.” While he applauded the allocation of funding for roads and bridges, as well as the omission of increased insurance liability requirements, Todd Spencer, president and CEO of OOIDA, was not thrilled with the outcome of the vote. “This should have been a bipartisan slam dunk,” Spencer said. “Instead, the continued lack of action has demonstrated to America’s truckers that, despite all their hard work keeping the country safe and supplied throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, they largely remain an afterthought in the Senate. The lack of dedicated funding to address the truck parking crisis is a major reason OOIDA could not support the bill.” Spencer said OOIDA would continue to oppose any surface transportation legislation that does not prioritize the needs of professional drivers. “Despite the disappointing outcome, we want to thank Sens. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) and Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) for championing Amendment 2615, which would have helped increase truck parking capacity across the country,” Spencer concluded. “We will continue work with them to identify other opportunities to address the lack of parking.”

ALLENTOWN, Pa. — President Joe Biden visited Mack Truck’s Lehigh Valley Operations assembly plant in Macungie, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday, July 28, to promote his administration’s infrastructure, jobs and clean energy goals. While there, Biden met with Mack employees, including those represented by United Auto Workers Local 677, and toured the facility to learn about the manufacturing process, the supply chain and Mack’s production of battery-electric trucks, including the Mack LR Electric battery-electric refuse vehicle, the manufacturer’s first fully electric Class 8 truck. “We are honored that President Biden chose to visit Mack Trucks,” said Martin Weissburg, president of Mack Trucks, adding that the manufacturer is celebrating its 121st anniversary this week. “Mack is part of the only heavy-duty truck manufacturing group to assemble all of its trucks exclusively in the U.S. for this market.” While at the plant, Biden addressed Mack employees and state and federal government representatives, including Pennsylvania’s Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf, state Rep. Susan Wild (D-District 15) and U.S. Sen. Bob Casey Jr. (D-Pa). “Well, I’m not going to say anything; I just came to drive a truck, and I’m not sure which one I want to drive,” Biden said, gesturing to the Class 8 tractors positioned behind the podium and drawing a few laughs from the crowd “There’s one back in the corner you can’t see. It’s the biggest damn pick-up truck you ever saw in your life.” While this quip drew friendly chuckles from the crowd, another statement, captured by a local media outlet, has spurred less-kind laughter. “I used to drive an 18-wheeler, man … I got to,” Biden can be heard saying as he toured the Mack plant in a video posted to Twitter Wednesday. According to FOX News, there is “scant evidence that Biden has ever driven an 18-wheeler truck.” When FOX News reached out to the White House for confirmation of Biden’s claim, a spokesperson referred to a 1973 article from the Wilmington Evening Journal that stated Biden had ridden in an 18-wheeler on a 536-mile haul to Ohio. Following his opening statement at the Mack plant, Biden reiterated his goal to strengthen American companies and manufacturing through changes to the Buy American Act. “It’s a straightforward solution: support and grow more American-based companies. Put more Americans to work in union jobs. Strengthen American manufacturing and secure critical supply chains. And confront the climate crisis, which is all about jobs,” he said. I can sum it up in two words: Buy American.” Currently, any vehicles purchased by the U.S. federal government must be “substantially all” made in America, Biden said. However, because many products are assembled in the U.S. using foreign-made components, that goal can be difficult to meet.. “But because of loopholes, over time, you know what ‘substantially all’ means today?” he continued. “If 55% of it was made in America, you can go ahead and get all of the rest of it purchased other places. To me, 55% is not “substantially all” — it’s barely half.” The proposed solution is to boost the required percentage of American-made components. “Today, I’m directing the budget office to issue a rule to raise the amount of domestic content required to be considered Made in America from 55% to 75%,” Biden stated. “‘Substantially all’ is going to mean substantially all.” Biden’s remarks also touted the administration’s goals for a bipartisan infrastructure plan, which he hopes to expand to include clean energy, as well as new jobs, child care and elder care, and more. “You may have heard that, in Washington — and I was just on the phone — it looks like we reached a bipartisan agreement on infrastructure — a fancy word for bridges, roads, transit systems, high-speed Internet, clean drinking water, cleaning up and capping the orphan wells — over thousands of them abandoned, and abandoned mines — and a modern, resilient electric grid to build,” he said. Part of the Biden administration’s focus is on protecting the environment by converting much of the nation to electric vehicles, including both private and commercial transport. “I just saw the work you’re doing on the heavy-duty electric vehicles here, like electric garbage trucks,” he said, referring to Mack’s LR Electric battery-electric refuse vehicle, which is assembled at the Lehigh Valley plant. “Right here, on this factory floor, you’re making a product that are fighting climate change,” he continued. “That’s why when I hear ‘climate change,’ I think jobs.” In closing, Biden exhorted the nation’s political and business leaders to set a strong example of equality and inclusion for the rest of the world. We’re the most unique nation in the history of the world. … By that I mean: Every other nation was put together based on ethnicity or religion, geography — but not America,” he explained. “An idea is what formed America. And the idea was — and it sounds corny, but it is absolutely true — no other nation has this as their organizing principle: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men and women are created equal…endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights … life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.’ “We believe it. We’ve never accomplished it, but every generation that moved us closer and closer and closer to inclusion,” he concluded. “That’s why America’s real power is not in the exercise of a military power, but people follow us because of our example. That’s why the rest of the world follows us.”

HARTFORD, Conn. — Beginning Jan. 1, 2023, owner-operators and motor carriers transporting goods through Connecticut will be subject to a vehicle miles traveled (VMT) tax as high as 17.5 cents per mile, depending on the weight of the vehicle. Connecticut House Bill (HB) 6688, which was passed by both houses of the state legislature in early June, was signed into law July 12 by the state’s Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont. The tax, which Lamont refers to as a “highway user fee” for large commercial trucks, was originally part of the governor’s proposed state operating budget. The fees, applied to all roads within the state, will begin at 2.5 cents per mile for commercial trucks with a gross weight of 26,000 to 28,000 pounds and range up to 17.5 cents per mile for those weighing 80,000 pounds or more. Motor carriers will be required to calculate and file monthly returns for miles traveled on roads within Connecticut. The funds generated, expected to average $90 million annually, will be deposited into a special transportation fund. Following outcry from members of the trucking industry against the state legislature’s passage of the bill, which many see as unfairly building the state’s tax base on commercial vehicles, Lamont took to social media to defend the fee. “The trucking lobby is threatening to have drivers go around Connecticut because of the Highway User Fee. That’s fine. We’ll have less air pollution, safer and better quality roads, and less people with asthma. Looks like the Highway User Fee is already working,” Lamont said in a June 9 Twitter post. Attached to the post was a video clip of Lamont making a statement to reporters, in which he noted that if trucking companies rerouted to avoid Connecticut, “We’ll still have the resources we need to make the investments we’ve got to.” American Trucking Associations (ATA) and the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) and American Trucking Associations (ATA) fired back at Lamont, both describing his statements as “ignorant.” “Lamont’s ignorance could fill a road train of 53-foot trailers. His open hostility toward truckers is shocking. He has shown a complete lack of respect for those who keep his state running by hauling goods in & out of CT. When did politicians become so out of touch with reality?” read a June 10 tweet from OOIDA. “Imagine being ignorant enough to think this is a clever response. You’ll also have less gasoline, less groceries, less household goods, less medicine, less construction materials… and all will cost more for consumers, too. If you bought it, a truck brought it,” ATA noted in a June 11 tweet. Following Lamont’s signing of HB 6688 into law July 12, Joe Sculley, president of the Motor Transport Association of Connecticut (MTAC), noted that similar policies in other states have failed because they are difficult to enforce, according to CT News Junkie. MTAC has historically opposed truck-only user fees. “You’re going to have out-of-state trucking companies either knowingly or unknowingly not pay it,” Sculley said. “That’s why it’s going to fail. We’re not going to get the money. The state is not going to get the tax revenue that they think they are and that’s going to cause a whole host of problems.” For more information about activity surrounding Connecticut HB 6688, click here.

HARTFORD, Conn. — Last week, both houses of the Connecticut state legislature approved a bill that would levy a highway user fee, or vehicle miles traveled tax (VMT), on large commercial trucks. House Bill 6688, sponsored by Democratic Reps. Matthew Ritter, Martin M. Looney, Jason Rojas and Bob Duff, passed by a wide margin in both the House (88-59) on June 8, and the Senate (22-14) in the early hours of June 9. The bill is now on the desk of the state’s Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont, who originally proposed the truck-use tax in a two-year budget presented in February 2021. If signed into law by Lamont, HB 6688 would result in a VMT ranging from 2.5 cents per mile for commercial trucks with a gross weight of 26,000 to 28,000 pounds up to 17.5 cents per mile for those weighing 80,000 pounds or more. The fees, which would apply to all roads within the state, would be enacted Jan. 1, 2023, with motor carriers required to calculate and file monthly returns for miles traveled on roads within Connecticut. The funds generated, expected to average $90 million annually, would be deposited into a special transportation fund. In response to outcry from members of the trucking and transportation industry against what many see as unfairly building the state’s tax base on commercial vehicle traffic, Lamont took to social media, including Twitter and Facebook, the evening of June 9, stating: “The trucking lobby is threatening to have drivers go around Connecticut because of the Highway User Fee. That’s fine. We’ll have less air pollution, safer and better quality roads, and less people with asthma. Looks like the Highway User Fee is already working.” Attached to the post was a video clip of Lamont making a statement to reporters, in which he noted that if trucking companies rerouted to avoid Connecticut, “We’ll still have the resources we need to make the investments we’ve got to.” The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) and American Trucking Associations (ATA) both responded negatively to Lamont’s social media post via Twitter. “Lamont’s ignorance could fill a road train of 53-foot trailers. His open hostility toward truckers is shocking. He has shown a complete lack of respect for those who keep his state running by hauling goods in & out of CT. When did politicians become so out of touch with reality?” read a June 10 post from OOIDA. “While bluster may be in fashion, should store shelves start thinning out, you might regret your choice of words, unless of course you can eat them,” added Todd Spencer, president of OOIDA, in a separate tweet. “Imagine being ignorant enough to think this is a clever response. You’ll also have less gasoline, less groceries, less household goods, less medicine, less construction materials… and all will cost more for consumers, too. If you bought it, a truck brought it,” ATA noted in a June 11 tweet. Following the House passage of the bill June 8, Joe Sculley, president of the Motor Transport Association of Connecticut (MTAC), pointed out that state representatives voted to exempt dairy trucks, which he described as “the heaviest trucks on the road,” from paying the tax. “(Dairy) trucks operate at 100,000 pounds, while the limit for all other trucks is 80,000 pounds,” Sculley stated. “This just goes to show that the truck mileage tax is not actually about damage to the roads; it’s just about money. Lighter-weight trucks will be subsidizing heavier trucks that will be exempt from the tax.” MTAC has repeatedly voiced opposition to a truck-only fee, through letters to House and Senate leaders; written and verbal testimony to the state’s Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee; and letters to the editor and op-ed pieces published by statewide news outlets. “The treatment of small business trucking companies in Connecticut is like an undersized kid in grade school always getting his lunch money stolen by a bigger, stronger kid. In this case, our ‘lunch money’ is the taxes and fees the industry pays to fund the Special Transportation Fund,” Sculley wrote in an April 28 op-ed piece published on the CT News Junkie website, adding that imposing a truck mileage fee implies “it’s the trucking industry’s fault that the government has mismanaged the Special Transportation Fund.” In addition, MTAC organized a coalition of more than a dozen businesses and trade associations representing the trucking industry, community chambers of commerce, the lumber industry, food retailers and distributors, and more, all opposing a tax levied only against commercial vehicles. According to a June 14 newsletter from MTAC, the association, at the request of “one powerful legislator,” proposed alternatives to a truck mileage tax, including the use of COVID-19 relief funds, transferring sales tax revenue from the state’s general fund to the special transportation fund, and considering some reduction in train fare subsidies. The proposals “were seemingly ignored by the person who invited MTAC to propose the alternatives once they were submitted by MTAC,” the statement noted. In the same newsletter the association stated, “As the legislative session was approaching its June 9 adjournment date, MTAC learned that Governor Lamont made a deal with the legislature. He would approve more state bonding in order to send money to towns and cities, if the legislature approved the truck mileage tax. Something like that is hard to fight against.” Sculley said he believes the tax is ultimately destined to fail. “Proponents (of the tax) think that all they have to do is compare miles reported under the interstate agreement known as IFTA (International Fuel Tax Agreement) against miles reported under this new mileage tax,” he explained. “They don’t realize that (1), out-of-state trucking companies report their IFTA miles to their base state, and that Connecticut does not have access to those records, and (2), IFTA includes single-unit trucks, which this tax does not. Connecticut cannot do an apples-to-oranges comparison for purposes of enforcing this new tax,” Sculley continued. “Connecticut is never going to see the money predicted for this bill, and this tax scheme will fail,” he concluded.

ATLANTA — In response to severe weather and tornadoes that ravaged Coweta and Polk counties in Georgia’s Metro Atlanta area March 25-26, The Georgia Motor Trucking Association (GMTA) has activated the Convoy of Care to assist families affected by the destruction. According to the National Weather Service, the tornado that struck the town of Newnan in Coweta County was rated as an EF4, causing damage “consistent with winds up to 170 mph.” Through partnerships with local law enforcement, the media, the trucking and logistics industry, and others, Convoy of Care works to provide disaster relief throughout the Southeast. GMTA has been part of Convoy of Care since 2016. “This (disaster) hit close to home. Oftentimes we’re traveling to a different state, or a different part of this state, but this one is literally in our backyard,” said Emily Crane, GMTA’s vice president of safety and education. “In the Newnan area, which was really hit (hard), there are neighborhoods that are just gone. There are homes gone. The area was just destroyed.” GMTA is asking for assistance from the trucking and logistics industry, as well as private citizens. In addition to toiletries, nonperishable food and cleaning supplies, yard tools (preferably new) are needed to help area residents and volunteers sift through the debris. Convoy of Care partners have been on the ground in the storm-stricken areas this week, evaluating how best to meet the needs of the communities. “That’s when we heard that yard tools were needed,” Crane said, adding that she heard the following story from some responders in Newnan. “There was a gentleman there, walking in his yard, searching through what was (left of) his house, with one shoe in his hand. They asked, ‘What are you doing?’ and he said, ‘I’m looking for another shoe for my daughter, so she’ll have a pair of matching shoes,’” Crane shared. “That’s an earth-shattering position to be in; searching through what was his home, looking for a shoe so his daughter could wear a pair of shoes.” To help transport the volume of donations expected, GMTA is requesting the use of forklifts, tractors and trailers, drivers, gaylord boxes (large, industrial-strength cardboard crates) and other supplies. “Right now, we seem to have most of the driver situation covered, but we never know what the response is going to be until the day of,” Crane said. “Our biggest need right now is forklifts when we go to Newnan, and then our main need is gaylord boxes.” Anyone wishing to donate the use of trailers, drivers and gaylord boxes this week should email Crane at [email protected]. Contactless drop-off will take place Thursday, April 1, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the following locations: Georgia State Stadium (old Turner Field), 755 Hank Aaron Drive SE, Atlanta; and Woodstock First Baptist Church, 11905 State Highway 92, Woodstock (Gunnin Road and Trickum entrance). To make a monetary donation to the Convoy of Care, click here. “When disaster strikes, we’re so grateful for the fact that we’re able to rely on the trucking industry to do what they do every day, which is deliver everyday essential items to the people who need them the most,” Crane said. “We all rely on trucks to get us what we need.”