News From ASET - January, 2008

ASET To Push Pilot Projects

ASET enters 2008 with a clear objective and strategy in mind to increase trucking productivity in the near future.

The issue of trucking productivity has never been more relevant or more needed and the next congressional reauthorization bill represents our best opportunity to see real legislative success. The reauthorization bill will be deliberated, debated and written between now and the end of 2009. ASET is determined to have specific language included that will allow heavier trucks onto our Interstate highways in a number of states. Specifically, we will lobby to have a handful of states adopt pilot projects that will show clearly that reducing the number of trucks on our road is good for shippers, motor carriers, and the public at large.

ASET will be pushing our green statistics that will illustrate the benefits to our environment that will accrue if more productive trucks are allowed on the Interstate system. From reduced vehicle-miles-traveled, lower emissions, and a move away from smaller state roads onto more strongly built federal highways and bridges, there is no logical reason to oppose our objective.

In addition to making our safety and environmentally friendly case, the ASET coalition will push for some form of user fee that carriers and shippers would pay into that would go into a designated fund for bridge and/or highway repairs. We will present our ideas for pilot projects as part of the solution to our ever-growing need for funds to rebuild our aging infrastructure.

ASET To Hold Fly-In Event

The coalition will hold a fly-in event in late spring of this year where we will meet with legislators and their staff to make our case and directly ask for their support of enacting pilot projects in key states. By targeting states that have either geographical or competitive significance, we hope to educate those in Congress, as well as in the state houses and local communities, that our legislative proposal has merit. Such states will be determined by our members but several states that border Canada, Mexico or have ocean ports are likely to be included since nearly all of the western world now allows heavier trucks except the U.S.

Dates for the fly-in range from late April to mid-May and will be held over the course of two days. We will have a session to go over meeting plans, hear from a few Members of Congress and then set out on group visits. Once the date and arrangements are finalized we will send a formal invitation to all our members and active participants for this important dialogue with our congressional leaders. If you would like to attend or at a minimum receive our invite, please contact Jake Jacoby at jjacoby@aset-safety.org