Highway bill: The good news and the bad news

New House Highway Bill Being Introduced

 

Im moderately suprised they didnt go for the jugular and just enact the cali ban on pre emissions trucks. Though the insurance one is nearly as bad. Talked to my insurance about it and with my recent no fault accident i would be paying almost 55k a year for 2 million.....especially as a 4 month old O/O

 

• I know it sucks for owner-ops but $750,000 won't cover the cost of a lot of major trauma injuries anymore.
• More of the sleep apnea scam.
• Going to mess around with the HOS again and limit personal conveyance to unnecessarily inconvenience drivers more.
• Mandatory Automatic Emergency Braking that locks up brakes for no reason to make things "safer".
• Congestion pricing that will cause companies to force their drivers to roll at night in possibly unsafe areas.

 

Increase minimum insurance requirements on motor carriers from $750,000 to $2 million.

A huge win for the trial lawyers … trial lawyer lobbyists group has more power and money than the top five lobbying groups combined.
Initiate a rulemaking for sleep apnea screenings.

A huge win for the insurance lobbyists.
Require FMCSA to review its changes to the hours-of-service rules established in 2020 and to create specific limits on the use of personal conveyance.

Well idiots, you asked for it, now it is coming. Stupid drivers crying about PC and abusing it, now they will move to screw all of the drivers by regulating it.
Require new heavy-duty commercial motor vehicles to be equipped with automatic emergency braking.

oh great another stupid idea, bet it came from the automatic emergency braking vendors like bendix and backed by the insurance lobbyists.
Research and consider the feasibility of installing side underride guards.

a good idea but I think this should have come from the trailer companies and the fleet owners. I’ve asked for it from unity and Great Dane but there was a shove back, even after unity got sued.
Return CSA scores to public view.

really don’t care, stupid to even have it.
Create new authority for congestion pricing

For those who don’t understand this, it is a way to f**** all of us out of more money by allowing cities/counties/states to charge for congestion traffic, fight this as much as you can, I am.

 

Actually as far as the insurance is concerned, I read somewhere(wish I could remember where it was) where the 750k covers over %95 of accidents(at fault)

 

I said it in the other thread already, blame those lazy bums that feel entitled to millions for a minor crash. Get rid of those dumb lawsuits and there's half the problem fixed there.

 

Do not forget they also want all heavy duty commercial vehicles to run at 65mph.

So, not only will our trucks have to run slower and be prohibited to do the speed limit on most highway’s, but we will face predatory insurance companies that force $4k to $5k a month on us to cover the $2 million dollar premiums.

Where does the $4k to $5k a month come from? Well, I just finished paying $2,500 a month for one truck and trailer through Progressive. That was for $1 million liability insurance. No accidents, at fault claims, no tickets. Clean MVR. Still why so high? Because PA has one of the highest premium rates on earth.

The good news, perhaps this bill will run the $1.60-$2.00 a mile haulers out of business. Maybe, just maybe, us new O/O’s can now negotiate higher rates to cover the added expense of this $2 million dollar insurance mandate.

Who knows, because I sure don’t know. I’m just trying to stay independent and not drive for anyone but myself. If I cannot do that, then it’s time for me to go back to law school and pick up where I left off of. I’m not built to be anyone’s employee.

 

Insurance premiums are not the "profit" of insurance companies. They actually have to collect enough premiums to cover the expected losses and keep it no hand. Now they can, and do, invest that money to make money. But the premium, by law, is the amount needed to cover insurance claims. Used to be $.97 of every $1 collected went to claims. With the cost of the newer vehicles it was, as of 2018, $1.07 of every $1. So insurance companies were losing money.

The lawyers are the blood suckers. Not the insurance companies.

 

Just means pretty soon a loaf of bread will be $8. Gallon of milk $10. Gallon of gas $10.