Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association
1 OOIDA Drive, Grain Valley, MO 64029
Web Site: www.www.ooida.com
Facebook: OOIDA Facebook
Contact: Norita Taylor, norita_taylor@ooida.com
Headquarters: (816) 229-5791
For Immediate Release
OOIDA provides input to Senate hearing on EPA oversight
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association provided comments on behalf of the interests of small-business truckers to a hearing today held by the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Superfund, Waste Management, and Regulatory Oversight entitled “Oversight of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Implementation of Sound and Transparent Science in Regulation.”
In a letter to the Subcommittee, OOIDA reiterated its support for the EPA’s reconsideration of Phase 2 emission requirements for glider vehicles, glider engines and glider kits. On behalf of the Association’s more than 160,000 members the Association expressed how changes to federal policies such as glider vehicle regulations dramatically affect the industry.
The letter was not the first such communication to lawmakers about the issue of glider kits.
A representative from OOIDA testified on Sept. 13 at a joint hearing before the Subcommittee on Oversight and Subcommittee on Environment Hearing – Examining the Underlying Science and Impacts of Glider Truck Regulations.
That hearing was held specifically to discuss the effects that glider vehicle regulations have on truckers. OOIDA told the subcommittee that the option of glider kits provide small-business truckers affordable, reliable and efficient choices when purchasing a different commercial motor vehicle.
In July of this year, the EPA announced it had decided to delay through 2019 the enforcement of a cap that would limit the number of glider trucks that could be built. The agency said the delay was intended to reduce the impact on the industry until a resolution could be reached. However, a lawsuit prompted the EPA to pull back the decision not to regulate.
OOIDA says that gliders are at least 25 percent less expensive than new commercial motor vehicles and can save owner-operators tens of thousands of dollars. Owner -operators typically purchase glider kits with remanufactured engines because it allows them to diagnose and repair mechanical issues without the need for a dealer technician or specialized equipment. Also, the fuel efficiency of glider kits is either closely matched, or in some cases, exceeds a new truck’s.
Emission standards have increased the cost for new trucks and the technology has often been found to make them extremely unreliable. If a truck becomes a liability by routinely being inoperable, the owner must absorb the cost of lost productivity, while also paying for the necessary repairs.
The option of purchasing a glider kit can sometimes mean saving a small trucking business and should remain a viable option.