GPS mandate would unfairly punish law-abiding truckers

New York should instead review safety of bridges and training

(Grain Valley, Mo., Oct. 15, 2009) – The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) believes the enhanced GPS mandate for truckers proposed in New York unfairly punishes a greater majority of truckers, will do nothing to improve safety, and will ultimately hurt consumers.

“It’s yet another case of New York using truckers as punching bags,” said OOIDA Legislative Affairs Director Mike Joyce.

“The number of bridge strikes compared to the millions of truck miles traveled there doesn���t add up to a need for all trucks to use any type of GPS just to avoid that type of incident.”

“This heavy-handed scheme comes on the heels of recent tax, fee and proposed route restrictions for commercial vehicles. The governor is doing a great job of pushing New York to the top of the list of places where truckers least want to do business. Hopefully, that is not his goal – to drive the economic development out of New York.”

Gov. David A. Paterson announced that he wants to not only require commercial trucks to use enhanced GPS systems, but also increase penalties, allow truck confiscations, and recoup costs associated with bridge strikes. He contends there is a relevant correlation between truck drivers who relied on GPS and those who wound up on restricted routes where they ran into bridges not high enough for large trucks to pass under. However, his announcement did not indicate why those drivers chose to ignore clearly marked signs telling them which roads were restricted.

Lou Esposito, a small-business trucker from New York who has traveled all of the state’s roads, says he does not rely on a GPS system at all to run his routes. Plus, the bridges he has encountered in his 40 years of driving there are incorrectly marked.

“It’s commonly known that they are marked wrong, and so there is confusion about the actual clearances,” said Esposito. “However, I shouldn’t have to go out and buy a device I do not need. I already know my way around and if I have doubts about whether my truck will clear, I get out and look.”

The Association contends that a lack of driver training and allowing new drivers to rely too much on technology may be the real reason for bridge strikes. Instead of mandating enhanced GPS devices for all trucks, the state should review the safety of all bridges and their clearance heights, ensure restricted routes are clearly posted, and educate drivers about the importance of reading road signs.

Joyce added, �€œDrivers are already being forced off a number of routes in New York which will mean more fuel will be used, which will ultimately mean more cost to consumers. These types of efforts in New York will cause quality trucking jobs to go elsewhere as well as raise costs to consumers throughout the state.

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association is the largest national trade association representing the interests of small-business trucking professionals and professional truck drivers. The Association currently has more than 158,000 members nationwide. OOIDA was established in 1973 and is headquartered in the greater Kansas City, Mo., area.

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