IST Analysis of H.R. 7457
H.R. 7457 Will NOT Make Trucking Safer.
It Will Shield Shippers and Brokers from Liability for Hiring Unsafe Motor Carriers.
Summary:
On July 1, Representative Gibbs (R-OH) introduced, H.R. 7457, a bill to “establish a national motor carrier safety selection standard for entities that contract with certain motor carriers to transport goods, and for other purposes.”
This definition of the bill is purposefully misleading the public. Instead of improving safety as the above definition portends, H.R. 7457’s true purpose is to protect brokers from getting sued if they hire unsafe motor carriers who are involved in injurious and fatal truck crashes.
If passed, H.R. 7457 would consider a shipper and broker “to have made the selection of the motor carrier in a reasonable and prudent manner” if they ensure that the carrier:
Registered with and authorized by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to operate as a motor carrier or household goods motor carrier, if applicable.
Has the minimum insurance coverage required by federal regulation ($750,000).
Is not determined unfit to operate safely commercial motor vehicles by the Secretary of Transportation or otherwise ordered to discontinue operations.
Key Points:
The three requirements identified in H.R. 7457 set a standard for shippers and brokers at such an inadequate threshold that it would diminish accountability throughout the supply chain. High-risk, unsafe, and chameleon carriers could easily satisfy the three criteria. This is because none of the requirements inform shippers and brokers about the current safety performance of a carrier.
Because this bill would protect shippers and brokers from being sued as long as the motor carrier meets the three criteria, it would incentivize decision makers to rely on insufficient information to select the cheapest motor carriers who sacrifice safety to lower their operating costs.
H.R. 7457 would indemnify shippers and brokers even if they ignored troubling and dangerous actions carried out by a motor carrier, including but not limited to:
Hiring drivers who have poor records or abuse drugs while operating,
High risk carriers that use speed as a competitive advantage, or
Reincarnating under a new name after being involved in a fatal truck crash.
A robust national hiring standard would require shippers and brokers to review a motor carrier’s:
Driver and vehicle out-of-service rates
Crash rates (for property-damage, injury, and fatal)
Driver screening policies (such as drug testing)
Driver training policies and vehicle maintenance
Investment in safety technologies (ex. automatic emergency braking and driver-facing cameras)
Shippers and Brokers should be part of an effort to improve safety, and should be responsible for their purchasing decisions, as other industries are.