Taking The Hill
Motor Carrier Programs
The U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation held a hearing on the effectiveness of the U.S. Department of Transportation's Motor Carrier Safety programs and its organizational structure. The National Transportation Safety Board testified that in 1997 there were 5,355 fatal crashes involving heavy trucks -218 more deaths than in 1996. This figure does not include those with serious injuries only. Heavy trucks account for only 3 percent of all registered vehicles while collisions involving large trucks accounted for 9 percent of the 1997 traffic fatalities.
Joan Claybrook, co-chair of the Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety stated, "The Office of Motor Carriers has failed in its assigned role to prevent this carnage, and action must be taken now to save lives."
DOT's other agency responsible for vehicle safety, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, has also been remiss in producing any credible advocacy efforts for vehicle inspection and maintenance programs.
EPA Overhaul Proposed
A bipartisan team in the U.S. House of Representatives is drafting legislation that would overhaul the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's current reporting methods. It requires the EPA administrator to prepare a report listing national environmental indicators and would allow the agency to experiment with new regulatory approaches. The administrator's report would allow the agency to focus on the most severe environmental problems.
Easing Traffic Congestion
The House Science Committee's Subcommittee on Technology held a hearing on traffic congestion and vehicle safety. The purpose of the hearing was to review the effectiveness of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) and other transportation technologies. The ITS seeks to develop and deploy a variety of different technologies to improve the use of the transportation infrastructure. It involves sensors, artificial intelligence, information/communications technology, and control systems affecting the roadway, driving task, or their interface.
Lawmakers had hoped the systems would reduce congestions, expedite response to highway incidents, improve transit service, decrease the number of traffic accidents and reduce environmental emissions.
Auto Choice
The Senate Commerce Committee is considering a mark-up of Sen. Mitch McConnell's Auto Choice legislation. The bill offers consumers a choice of policies determined by limits on liability. The bill is certain to draw opposition from trial lawyers and some of the insurance industry.
Superfund Update
Republican U.S. senators are seeking Democratic support for a major overhaul of Superfund. The draft legislation includes provisions giving the states authority to determine when a cleanup is complete, and limiting follow-up federal enforcement at sites where states request federal assistance. The draft includes other key provisions as well, including an exemption for recyclers.
Some Democratic senators are advocating a "Brownfields only" bill that provides grant money directly to states and municipalities for redevelopment and funds to states to establish a revolving loan fund for voluntary cleanup programs. Brownfields refers to abandoned urban industrial sites that are vacant because of toxic leftovers. This bill adds Superfund liability protection to prospective purchasers so long as they "perform a due diligence inspection."
AutoInc.'s Ninth Annual Management Software Guide || U.S. Appeals Court Rejects Clean Air Regulations || Scan Tool Information: Data or Dogma? || How Accurate is that Computerized Estimate? || Clearing the Hurdles of Estimating Systems Training || Organizing the Office || Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) || Guest Editorial || Tech to Tech || Tech Tips || News Briefs || Taking the Hill || Around ASA || Net Worth || Stat Corner || Shop Profile || Chairman's Message
AutoInc. Magazine ® Vol.XIVII, July 1999
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