Trucks on display at AMTA’s 1989 Truck Show.
AMTA Executive Vice President Terry Smalley introduces new AMTA president Jerry Moyes in 1986.
Anti-truck cartoons like this resulted from a dramatic increase in truck accidents during the mid-1980s.
The 1980s The decade of the 1980s changed the
trucking industry forever. On June 1, 1980, President Jimmy Carter signed the Motor Carrier Act of 1980 which removed the federal government’s control over interstate trucking’s “rates, routes and service” and struck down most barriers to entry for new truckers. Now anyone with a bit of capital, a truck or two, and the willingness to work hard could enter the trucking business. The new “irregular-route truckload carrier” model quickly established itself and would become the dominant trucking model of the future. As the once-dominant, unionized LTL
carriers struggled to survive, the U.S. was also going through a recession from 1980- 83. There was not enough freight to go around and truckers hauled loads at break- even rates just to stay in business a little longer. Bankruptcy or acquisition soon took
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down longtime carriers such as TIME-DC, Transcon Lines, McLean Trucking, P-I-E, Navajo Freight Lines and others that few in our industry today even remember. In 1982, the Surface Transportation
Assistance Act (STAA) standardized truck size and weight in the states and mandated that states grant trucks “reasonable access” to points of pick-up and delivery. Doubles became legal in 48 states, length limits increased, bringing on 53’ trailers and allowing car haulers more capacity on their rigs. But truck taxes jumped substantially to support highway maintenance as well as new transportation projects. A dramatic increase in truck accidents
that followed after deregulation prompted calls for new, more stringent safety rules at both federal and state levels. Fuel economy and driver comfort
became the focus of suppliers striving to meet the demands of the rapidly changing
trucking industry. Aerodynamic tractors and trailers, electronic engine management systems and other innovations were introduced. Increased length limits also opened the roads to conventional tractors with longer wheel bases that provided a smoother ride. In 1985, a former MIT assistant professor named Irwin Jacobs had an idea for two-way digital wireless communications between dispatchers and drivers, and founded a San Diego start-up called Qualcomm. In 1988, U. S. EPA followed California’s
lead in proposing a national standard for low-sulfur diesel fuel and set a September 30, 1993 deadline for all on-highway diesel to contain no more than 0.05 percent sulfur. On January 1, 1981, Arizona became
a member of the International Registration Plan (IRP), ensuring that carriers could baseplate their tractors and make one payment of their pro-rated fees for operating
Arizona Trucking Association 2012 Yearbook
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