OOIDA Call to Action – California Members
June 23, 2003

Heads up, California truckers! A bill that would require hazardous materials’ haulers based in the state to carry a device enabling police or carriers to stop the vehicles has a scheduled Senate Transportation Committee hearing on July 1.

AB575 is designed to keep certain hazardous materials out of the hands of terrorists.

It covers trucks carrying poison or toxic gas; flammable and combustible liquid; poison or toxic material; infectious substances; or radioactive material.

The bill calls for every truck covered to have some kind of disconnect device – an external mechanism that could be activated by police or the carrier that would either activate the brakes or cut off the fuel to the engine.

AB575 also requires each truck have a GPS tracking device that would allow the carrier to locate the trucks at any time.

If the bill receives approval from the Transportation Committee, it would head to the full Senate for a vote. It already passed the Assembly.

For contact information to express your opinion on this initiative, visit www.sen.ca.gov/ftp/sen/committee/STANDING/TRANSPORTATION/_home1/PROFILE.HTM. You can also call OOIDA’s membership department at 1-800-444-5791 and they’ll look it up