Should truck drivers who transport hazardous materials be given less rigorous background checks?
That's the question some officials in the trucking community are asking. As the number of qualified hazmat drivers continue to dwindle, some people think the rules should be loosened. According to an article by Fleet Owner Magazine, the safety and security of the current rules for truck drivers are not being questioned, but rather the depth and ominous nature of the rules.
Robert Petrancosta, vice president of safety for LTL carrier Con-way Freight, spoke before Congress last week, stressing that hazmat rules may be too tough. He said that there are about one million shipments of hazardous materials in the U.S. each day. Of those, 94 percent are moved by truck. The rate of serious incidents involving the transportation of hazardous materials by motor carriers is only .0001 percent and the number of incidents involving injusries is .00002 percent.
“The … reduction in hazardous
materials-qualified drivers is not the result of individuals failing
the background check – less than 1 percent fail – but rather is a result of
the onerous process associated with obtaining this credential and the
fact that drivers often must obtain multiple credentials that entail
expensive, duplicative federal background checks,” Petrancosta said.
Many people in the trucking business think the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safey Administration is doing a good job at setting and enforcing the rules.
“We support the PHMSA's
leadership in regulating hazardous materials transportation," Petrancosta said. "[They’ve]
implemented an enterprise approach to hazardous materials regulation
and communicates on a regular basis with key stakeholders, including
safety advocates, emergency responders, carriers and shippers."
Many truckers mus pay for multiple background checks. At the same time, federal and state hazmat rules can conflict with eachother, causing delays in obtaining permits. Jurisdiction over hazmat rules is split between the PHMSA and the Occupation Safety and Health Administration, which also complicates things.
Many people feel the biggest issue is redundancy. Many states, municipalities and local goverments are requiring background checks and other credentials for hazmat drivers that duplicate what federal checks are doing.
“Duplicative
background checks and redundant credentials have caused a dramatic
reduction in the number of qualified drivers that are available to
transport hazardous materials,” Petrancosta said.
“Prior to the initiation of the Transportation Security Administration's background check program, there were more than 2.7 million drivers that
had obtained hazardous materials endorsements to their commercial
drivers licenses,” he continued. “We estimate that the number of HME
holders will fall to 1.6 million – some 41 percent – by the spring of 2010.”
The reason the number of drivers will continue to decrease has nothing to do with drivers failing the background checks, Petrancosta said, but with the increasing costs for the checks themselves.
“Drivers that transport hazardous materials must
submit to a fingerprint-based background check to obtain HME to their
CDL," he said. "This credential costs approximately $100, requires multiple visits
to the licensing agency to complete the process and involves a delay of
several weeks before the credential is issued.
"Many of these drivers also access port facilities and therefore must
obtain a Transportation Worker Identification Credential
– these drivers receive a discount if they have already been through an
HME check, but still must pay an additional $105.25 for the second
credential," Pentrancosta continued, adding that obtaining federal credentials for Con-way's drivers costs about $250,000.
Individual states have more than 40 separate
hazardous materials permitting programs, depending on the type
of hazardous material being transported through the state. A solution would be the Uniform Program, which is currently administered in seven states. The program ensures participating states will continue to receive the revenue
they have come to rely upon under their individual permitting programs.
It also would reduce state expenses, as the inspection and
administrative functions would be shared by all participating states,
while reducing the administrative burden on the regulated industry.
