In response to the crash inolving Walmart driver, Kevin Roper, which injured several and killed one man earlier this month, New York senator Charles Schumer has spoken out on the safety issues that he believes is presented by commercial drivers.
He’s come forth with a plan that backs electronic on board recording devices to prevent driving while tired, and suggested increasing the required insurance for commercial vehicles.
In a press conference Schumer said:
“The companies or the drivers or both skirt the rules when it comes to the amount sleep and off-time a driver must have. The current paper-based logbook system is subject to easy falsification and manipulation. So we need rules that set a level playing field and don’t give a competitive disadvantage to the companies that comply with the rules voluntarily,
He believes that the crash involving the Walmart driver was due to driving while tired.
Under Schumer’s plan, all truck drivers would be required to equip their rigs with electronic log devices within the next 2 months.
In a recent poll taken by truck drivers, however, these electronic devices have been met with heavy criticism, with up to 70% saying they’d potentially quit trucking if the devices were mandated.
It seemed to be just a matter of time, before lawmakers used the unfortunate crash involving a celebrity, to push for stricter regulations. And now it’s happening.
