Transportation Funding Bill Should Not be Used to Compromise Traffic Safety Especially as Motor Vehicle Crash Fatalities and Injuries are at Historical Highs
Oppose Anti-Safety Amendments to and Sections in HR 4820
We urge you to OPPOSE amendments to HR 4820 that:
- Prohibit certain use of funds and will unnecessarily undermine vehicle safety rulemakings including #s 15, 20 (impaired driving prevention technology), 58, 93 (automatic emergency braking), 116, 122, 123
- Reduce FY 2024 funding for the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), DOT agencies, and DOT leadership salaries including #s 4, 25, 63, 91, 101, 125, 148, 163
- Reduce or prohibit use of funds for vital roadway safety improvements or state traffic safety laws including #s 67, 134, 137
We also OPPOSE Sections 131 through 134:
- Sec. 131: Prohibits use of funds to advance rules for speed limiting devices in commercial motor vehicles (CMVs). Speeding is a persistent and deadly issue that must and can be addressed with proven technology. These safety systems are in most trucks on the road today. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has recommended requiring the use of speed limiting devices since 2012.
- Sec. 132 and 133: Prohibits use of funds to require inward-facing cameras for the Safe Driver Apprenticeship Pilot Program (SDAP) and to require the SDAP is registered with the Department of Labor’s “industry-driven, high-quality career” Registered Apprenticeship Program to ensure the integrity of the SDAP. CMV drivers under the age of 19 are four times more likely to be involved in fatal crashes, and CMV drivers between the ages of 19 and 20 are six times more likely to be involved in fatal crashes than all truck drivers. This age group should not be driving big rigs across the country, but the pilot program allows them to do so. Commonsense safeguards for the program should not be removed or weakened.
- Sec. 134: Prohibits funding to enforce requirements related to electronic logging devices (ELDs) for carriers transporting livestock and insects. Truck driver fatigue is a known and serious issue that contributes to truck crashes, fatalities and injuries. ELDs have been required since 2017 and are a proven technology to record hours of service (HOS) limits and to ensure drivers are not exceeding the maximum hours behind the wheel.
Roadway fatalities, injuries and related costs continue to be exceedingly high and need to be reduced, not compounded!