The United States Truckers Articles of Declarations 

We, the truck drivers of the United States, hereby declare that we will no longer accept the legislative and regulatory abuses from our members of Congress and the Department of Transportation. It is our observation that Congress and the Department of Transportation are acting in malfeasance when it comes to making reasonable laws and regulations in regards to the trucking industry. Each passing year more truck drivers are dying on the job due to inappropriate regulations that they are required to abide by.

Our grievances are as follows:

The forced use of the electronic logging device.
  ⦁ Cybersecurity issues
  ⦁ Privacy issues
  ⦁ Violations to the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act
  ⦁ Violations to the Unfunded Mandate Reform Act
  ⦁ Broken Hours of Service rules
  ⦁ Increased job-related stress

Insufficient Parking Issues

Inadequate Hours of Service rules

Inadequate Training Standards

Autonomous Vehicles
  ⦁ Cybersecurity
  ⦁ Privacy Issues
  ⦁ Public interest in safety
  ⦁ Preservation of Jobs

Substandard Rates for Trucking Companies in the Spot Market

Detention Time

Congress has passed legislation that forces trucking companies to equip their trucks with electronic logging devices. These devices allow privacy invasion issues, potential terrorist activities, potential criminal activities, and loss of life through the cybersecurity issues that they present. Congress created a path in which these devices were implemented prior to fixing the parking shortage issues that have been present within the trucking industry for over twenty years and the FMCSA has created new hours of service rules that are comprised of a mixture of failed attempts in the past.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has violated its mission to decrease truck and bus accidents and fatalities on America's roads by ignoring the aforementioned issues. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has declared itself as an exempt agency in regards to the Regulatory Flexibility Act and the Unfunded Mandate Reform Act in its Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis. Therefore, the financial burdens of the electronic logging device have been placed on the trucking industry and are causing undue stress upon the business owners and their employees. The FMCSA has proven that they cannot adequately offer a solution to the broken hours of service rules and are limiting the flexibility of truck drivers from maximizing their ability to be safe and productive and that has compromised the ability for economic growth and safer road travels, as it pertains to the trucking industry. The FMCSA has not performed a regulatory review on the electronic logging device. We feel that a retrospective review on the use of the electronic logging device would expose these issues and more. Title 5 USC Section 553, the "Good Cause Exception", allows the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to suspend the regulation requiring the use of the electronic logging device until all of the issues regarding the electronic logging device may be corrected. 

We require that the electronic logging device be a choice for all carriers.

We feel that the training standards are inadequate and may be greatly improved. We would like to see educators and trucking professionals commissioned to create educational improvements. Students should expect an introductory level education, intermediate level education and an advanced level education for the purpose of creating professional drivers and to improve safer road travels.

This may be addressed by creating a 5 tier level program. A program structured to reward good drivers for increasing their skills and encourage other drivers to continue to better themselves. 

Our elected and non elected officials have allowed corporate giants to experiment with autonomous technology on public roads. This has led to disastrous outcomes from vehicles that have already been sold on the market and vehicles being tested for future use. We feel that this contradicts the Congressional and Department of Transportation's stance on safer roads for America. Secretary of the Department of Transportation, Elaine Chao, has acknowledged the issues of privacy and cybersecurity at the Autonomous Vehicle Symposium in San Francisco, Ca. on July 10, 2018.

"Cybersecurity is a major concern.  The hacking of AV software could result in privacy violations, theft, or even the acquisition of a vehicle by terrorists."

Another important aspect of the concerns of autonomous vehicles is the loss of jobs for Americans. Corporations are a judicial person and do not afford the same rights as a natural person (Human Being). Laws differ in regards to a judicial person as opposed to a natural person and we want a people's first initiative. Jobs should be reserved for humans first, considering that we are afforded certain unalienable rights and by the principle of the ninth amendment we wish to invoke our right to live in a humane existence and remain participating members of society. Machines should only replace humans when humans are no longer present to do the job, or the job is impossible for humans to perform.

https://www.transportation.gov/briefing-room/7-10-2018-autonomous-vehicle-symposium

We feel that the trucking industry has been set up for failure since the Motor Carrier Act of 1980. Part of the act was to create competition in the trucking industry to reduce the cost of shipping. However, small trucking entities and owner-operators have been struggling in the spot market due to unscrupulous practices by brokers and shippers. We require the opportunity to set minimum rates and to have an itemization of all accessorial charges. We feel that this may be accomplished through 49 USC Section 10706 - Rate Agreements Exempt From Antitrust Laws.

Truck drivers have struggled with lost revenue at the docks. Shippers and receivers have wasted truck driver’s time in the loading and unloading process. Time cannot be recovered. We require a reasonable rate for any time a driver is being detained for a period of time exceeding one hour. Detention time should be the driver's mileage rate x 60 calculated by the minute.

Small trucking companies and truck drivers are experienced in the field of the trucking industry and may offer adequate solutions that will work in a real-world environment. However, they are overshadowed by large organizations and trucking companies that lobby for laws and regulations to enhance their form of business, and interest, for control and dominance within the trucking industry. In fact, the term for this is "Agency Capture". 
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As an industry of chartered and unchartered organizations, groups,  and people that work in the trucking industry, we have grown weary of poor governance where people and organizations have had the privilege to influence laws and regulations that are adversely impacting the trucking industry and placing the regulated workers and the public at risk. For over three years we have approached our members of Congress to voice our concerns about such laws that contradict their purpose. We, the regulated, feel that it is time for our members of Congress to act upon the needs of the small trucking companies, owner-operators, and independent drivers. In order to better serve the country, our nation's economic prosperity, and road safety these issues must be addressed.

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