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The Bush administration is determined to increase
corporate power even if it kills them — or you! Eager to serve the giant trucking firms that have
supported President George W. Bush with generous campaign contributions,
Bush’s acolytes at the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
keep trying to jimmy the rules of the road in ways that fatten trucker
profits, wear out drivers, and endanger everyone sharing our roads. This is
no small issue, for some 100 people die and more than 2,000 are injured
every week in crashes involving large trucks. A major cause of these casualties is truck-driver
fatigue. As anyone who’s driven long distances knows, driver
alertness and performance deteriorate dangerously after about eight hours
behind the wheel. So Congress directed the trucking regulatory agency to
make safety its No. 1 priority and to revise the rules to reduce the
incidence of crashes caused by fatigue. In 2003, the Bushites issued their new rules.
Astonishingly, the rules increased the length of time a trucking
corporation could make its drivers stay behind the wheel, raising the limit
from 60 hours a week to 77. That’s 11 hours a day! The watchdog group Public Citizen sued, and in 2004 a
federal appeals court struck down this irresponsible ruling. In 2005,
however, under heavy lobbying from the industry, the agency essentially
reissued its old regulation allowing seven consecutive 11-hour days on the
road. Again Public Citizen sued — and now a second appeals court has
overturned the agency’s actions. The industry still insists that the long hours are
warranted because they make it cheaper to move stuff across the country.
Yeah — unless you’re one of the 5,000 people a year who pay
with their lives! To keep informed, go to www.citizen.org.
Jim Hightower is a national radio commentator,
columnist, and author.
This article appears in Sep 6-12, 2007.
