New York GPS Proposal – Safety or Revenue?

Citing more than 1,400 bridge overpass strikes over the past 15 years, the governor of New York has proposed mandating the use of enhanced commercial GPS systems by truckers. According to an article by Fleet Owner managing editor Brian Straight, Gov. David A. Paterson (D) is pushing the legislation, along with Westchester County executive Andrew J. Spano, in an effort to reduce the number of costly and dangerous bridge strikes.

New York State DOT reports that 81% of such strikes are due to truckers using non-commercial or outdated GPS systems, which don’t clearly alert drivers to low-clearance bridges and prohibited routes.

Along with requiring commercial-specific GPS units, the proposal would allow greater penalties for illegal use of restricted parkways. Officers issuing tickets on these grounds would be able to seize trucks, and trucking companies and their insurance providers could be held financially responsible for clean-up costs from overpass strikes.

But the state should bear more responsibility for clearly marking low bridges, with early-warning signs for last-chance exits and alternative routing, say drivers, and the Owner Operator Independent Drivers Assn. (OOIDA). Calling the governor’s proposal a “heavy-handed scheme”, OOIDA legislative director Mike Joyce says truckers would end up being New York’s “punching bags”, and the move would create a more hostile environment to truckers, which would drive business away from the state.

The main culprits in bridge strikes, says OOIDA, are insufficient training for drivers and too much reliance on technology. The organization suggests the state should review the safety and clearances of bridges, ensure that restricted routes are marked properly, and ramp up driver education on the importance of reading signs.

New York’s bridge-strike task force has suggested several programs that test methods to alert drivers of low-clearance bridges and route restrictions, in addition to a recommended enforcement blitz, which began in Westchester County in September. Of the 400 tickets truckers had received by mid-October for operating on restricted routes, the majority were issued to non-New York drivers using outdated or non-commercial GPS units.

Both sides claim costs are an issue. Paterson says the legislation would allow money spent on strike clean-up and repairs to be redirected to hospitals, schools and municipal services for the needy. OOIDA warns the increased burden on trucking companies, on top of current fees, taxes and restrictions, will cost the state more money by driving economic development elsewhere.

While the financial burden for new GPS devices will likely fall to trucking companies, NYSDOT, the N.Y. State Police and National Insurance Group Crime Bureau have discussed potential insurance discounts for drivers using truck-specific GPS technology.

Image: Kim Scarborough