Last week, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision in favor of Swift Transportation’s case regarding California’s Meal and Rest Break (MRB) laws.
The court ruled the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) preempts California’s MRB laws even when applied retroactively.
This decision will prevent truck drivers from pursuing complaints filed before the court decision was made.
In their summary the court stated,“…the FMSCA intended for this particular preemption determination to apply to pending lawsuits, the FMSCA’s decision prohibits present enforcement of California’s MRB rules regardless of when the underlying conduct occurred.”
The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) has issued a call for motor carriers and drivers to participate in their
Predatory Towing Survey.
Predatory towing is any incident in which a tow truck operator egregiously overcharges, illegally seizes, damages by use of improper equipment, or withholds release of a truck and/or cargo. Recognizing its persistent negative impact on the industry, ATRI’s Research Advisory Committee (RAC) identified the need to better understand this problem as a top research priority earlier this year.
Over the years the CTA has addressed these types of issues through
the Tow Service Advisory Agreement Committee. CTA also ran legislation that codified the requirements for participation in the
Rotation Tow Program that CHP dispatches in response to accidents on the freeways.
The short survey asks fleets to share information including:
• Which types of predatory towing they deal with most frequently?
• What fees or delays they consider predatory?
• Which states they have encountered predatory tows?
It also seeks participants for a second round of more detailed data collection that will allow ATRI to quantify the frequency and operational impact of each type of predatory event.
All data collected will be kept completely confidential.
We invite all CTA members to take part of this important survey.
CTA joined nearly 450 organizations, including other state trucking associations and chambers of commerce, on a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Republican Leaders Kevin McCarthy and Mitch McConnell urging action to prevent a rail strike.
The letter outlined to detrimental impact a rail strike would result in a freeze of almost 30% of U.S. cargo shipments by weight, stoke inflation and cost the American economy as much as $2 billion per day." It would also warned against the 7 million Amtrak travelers that would be affected daily.
