ON WASHINGTON
By Eric Francis Contributing Writer
It all began as a casual conversation between col-
leagues. Five senior transportation executives concluded what so many eventually do when discussing politics – things never to get done in Washington, D.C. Even chang- es that make common sense don’t happen. They were particularly frustrated about rules that
govern the trucking industry – many of which were needed, but were languishing in federal agencies for years, even decades. Further, the national associations hired to represent the trucking industry on Capitol Hill were often hamstrung, unable to move quickly because of the wide ranging opinions and diverse memberships they represented.
ARKANSAS TRUCKING REPORT | Issue 5 2013
But these executives aren’t known for their patience;
and a couple issues they felt could make the highways safer, improve industry efficiencies and would force truck- ing companies to obey the law needed to become reality. So, in the summer of 2010, these executives decided
to strike out on their own and try a new approach. They incorporated the Alliance for Driver Safety & Security in Washington, D.C. Now called The Trucking Alliance and began their campaign for reform. They believed the idea of creating a national database
that could keep drug abusers out of their trucks and off the nation’s highways made perfect sense. Yet, the idea had been buried in a federal agency for more than 10 years. Another proposal – to require electronic logging devic-
es in all commercial trucks to ensure drivers don’t exceed their number of hours behind the wheel – was also bogged
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