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HOURS OF SERVICE / FATIGUE

Daphne Izer helps derail bill that would have allowed a 16-hour work day for truckers.

Darcie_Moore@TimesRecord.Com
03/11/2005

LISBON, MAINE - A Lisbon woman whose son was killed 12 years ago by a tractor-trailer driver who fell asleep helped block an amendment that would have extended the workday for commercial truck drivers — for now.

Daphne Izer traveled to Washington, D.C., on Tuesday to express opposition to HR 623, an amendment to HR 3, "Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, A Legacy for Users."

Rep. John Boozman, R-Ark., sponsor of the amendment, withdrew it amid a storm of opposition.

But he did not rule out resubmitting a revised version of the proposal.

HR 623 would have allowed a 16-hour workday for truckers if they take an unpaid two-hour break. Under the current rule set by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, commercial truck drivers can work 14 hours per day, 11 of them on the road.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is the agency within the U.S. Department of Transportation that regulates the interstate commercial carrier industry. Its mission is to reduce crashes, injuries and fatalities involving large trucks and buses, according to its Web site.

On Monday, before she left for Washington, D.C., Izer said that the amendment was motivated by the trucking industry rather than safety concerns about driver fatigue. That concession to commerce at the expense of safety upset Izer. She joined other highway safety advocates in expressing opposition to Boozman's amendment during a press conference Tuesday on Capital Hill.

Izer co-founded Parents Against Tired Truckers in 1994 after her son, Jeff, and two friends were killed when a truck driver fell asleep and crashed into their vehicle in the breakdown lane on Interstate 95 in Falmouth. In a letter given to the members of Congress members on Wednesday, she wrote: "I never wanted to create a truck safety organization, but I soon learned that my husband and I were not alone in having lost a child, spouse or friend to the relentless, excessive demands put on truck drivers. Nearly 5,000 people are killed every year in crashes with big trucks. Truck driver fatigue has been identified as the No. 1 safety problem confronting the trucking industry."

In addition to Izer's group, other highway safety advocates delivered letters in opposition to the bill to members of Congress. More pressure came from safety and labor groups, Izer said. That wave of opposition led Boozman to withdraw his amendment.

Izer called it a triumph of common sense over corporate greed. "We feel like it was a victory but it's not over."

Boozman acknowledged he was offering the bill on behalf of Wal-Mart during the Congressional hearing, Izer said. She dubbed HR 623 "the Wal-Mart amendment," but noted that, "They were ashamed to put their name on it."

Other proposals like this often crop up as a result of industry lobbying, Izer said. Special-interest exemptions to rules, existing to keep the roads safe, are dangerous and practically impossible to enforce. Instead of amendments that lengthen their work day, commercial truck drivers should be paid for all the time they work, including hours tied up at docking ports, rather than just their time on the road, Izer said.

"We need to continue to be ever vigilant to keep an eye on corporate interests that put profit before safety," she said.