Current Hazmat Background Checks Hurt Trucking Says ATA; Trucking Official Testifies Program Imposes Higher Costs, Deters Drivers.

WASHINGTON -- The five-month-old hazardous materials truck driver background check implemented by the Transportation Security Administration as part of the USA Patriot Act is hurting the trucking industry by imposing higher operating costs and deterring drivers from obtaining "hazmat" endorsements, a top trucking executive testified before Congress today.

Speaking on behalf of the American Trucking Associations before a subcommittee of the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security, Steve Russell, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Indianapolis truckload carrier Celadon Group Inc., said that while the trucking industry supports the security objective, the current background check program has been "marred by a number of bad decisions."

Russell, whose Indianapolis-based truckload carrier firm has over 2,700 tractor trailers operating nationwide, said TSA has constructed a process that applies to materials that pose no security risks and costs the industry nearly double what background checks for aviation workers cost.

"The costs to drivers and carriers are unacceptably high and serve as a disincentive to obtaining a hazmat endorsement," Russell continued. "It is easy to see why drivers are discouraged." He said the program is implemented in a non-uniform manner across the states, has an insufficient number of fingerprinting locations and limited hours of operation. The ultimate impact may be the industry's inability to haul hazardous materials, he concluded.

The provision of the U.S. Patriot Act requiring commercial truck drivers with hazardous materials endorsements to their commercial drivers' licenses to undergo more stringent background checks went into effect after May 31. The endorsement and the background check are required for drivers transporting not only explosives, but also non-threatening commodities like paint, nail polish, chewing gum extract and soft drink syrup.

The trucking industry currently has a driver shortage of 20,000 long-haul drivers at a time when freight volumes are increasing, and ATA members feel the background check provision will further exacerbate that shortage. By TSA's own estimate, the background check will result in a loss of 20 percent of the hazmat-endorsed driver population.

ATA and its motor carrier members believe a sensible solution would be to target the background screening process to focus on hazardous materials that pose true security risks.

Trucks move more than 800,000 shipments of hazardous materials across the U.S. each day, with hazmat shipments accounting for 14.8 percent of all truck tonnage moved annually. Over eight percent of the nation's licensed or registered large trucks transport hazmat at some point during the year.

The American Trucking Associations is the largest national trade association for the trucking industry. Through a federation of other trucking groups, industry-related conferences, and its fifty affiliated state trucking associations, ATA represents more than 37,000 members covering every type of motor carrier in the United States.