CitizensVoice.com
by James Haggarty
January 21, 2011
New federal regulations aimed at improving truck and bus safety might drive up shipping costs and consumer prices.
"It's going to ultimately have an impact on shipping rates," said Mark Laurusevage, a state safety representative for Great West Casualty Co., a Nebraska-based truck insurer. "There's a lot of carriers who are a little shaken by this."
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's new reporting system rates trucking and bus companies on expanded measures, including infractions from safety-related roadside inspections and more-extensive driver assessments. Trucking companies may discharge drivers whose safety records harm their ratings, cutting further into a tight supply of drivers.
Trucking company executives, though, say tighter regulations will root out competitors who compromise on safety to compete on price. The transportation, warehousing and utilities sector employs 16,700 people in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre/Hazleton metro area.
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