OOIDA rep gives input on Pennsylvania's proposed idling bill
The Trucker News Services
4/11/2008
GRAIN VALLEY, Mo. — The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) testified on Thursday before Pennsylvania’s House Transportation Committee and provided input about Senate Bill 295 that would impose idling restrictions on large trucks to no more than five minutes per hour.
OOIDA is asking that the bill be changed to place responsibility for violations upon the vehicle owner. As proposed, the Diesel-Powered Commercial Motor Vehicle Idling Act places responsibility on the operator regardless of whether that person owns the truck.
“This is an unfair responsibility to place solely on a person that does not own the truck being driven,” stated Mike Joyce, OOIDA senior government affairs representative.
Some truck drivers have the advantage of an Alternative Power Unit (APU) that has been installed to heat or cool the occupied cab areas during federally required rest periods.
“But the simple fact is that few motor carrier employers will invest in this technology,” said Joyce. “An employee driver has no say in the economic decision whether to purchase and install these technologies on company owned equipment.”
The Association contends that a driver or operator must already comply with federal regulations, yet the motor carrier who owns the equipment and makes the financial choice not to invest in anti-idling technology would avoid penalty.
“Pennsylvania law should place accountability where it belongs when enforcing anti-idling restrictions,” added Joyce. “Simply going after the driver will not raise the level of compliance sought — not in Pennsylvania nor in jurisdictions throughout the U.S. with similar laws. We would also rather see uniformity for this nationally, rather than a ‘hodge podge’ of regulations from state to state.”
Also testifying before the committee was Thomas Fidler, deputy secretary for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s Waste, Air and Radiation Management. He proposed a series of amendments to the bill that would strengthen enforcement options; give the owners of warehouses, truck stops and commercial lots a greater role in ensuring the law would be followed; and increase the penalties that could be levied against violators.
"The Department of Environmental Protection fully supports the concept of statewide idling restrictions to limit emissions from diesel-powered commercial vehicles," said Fidler. "However, the department cannot support SB 295 in its current form and recommends substantive amendments to bring this legislation in line with neighboring states and better protect the public's health."
"Achieving the national ambient air quality standards for ozone and fine particulates remains a significant challenge for the commonwealth, especially in the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh-Beaver Valley areas," said Fidler. "Reducing diesel emissions from vehicle idling is an important component of our plans to achieve and maintain the ozone and fine particulate health-based national ambient air quality standards."
Fidler added that ensuring fewer commercial vehicles idle their engines extensively also saves fuel, which is important to many truck operators today as diesel prices climb.
"Idling diesel-powered vehicles can consume as much as a gallon of fuel per hour," said Fidler. "With the price of diesel fuel at more than $4 per gallon, every night a long-haul truck spends idling in Pennsylvania costs that operator as much as $40. If that truck idles every night, that is more than $14,000 a year in fuel expenses."
As many as 44 states and local jurisdictions, including the City of Philadelphia and Allegheny County, have enacted ordinances or adopted regulations that impose idling restrictions.
