The survey by Lake Research Partners shows 80 percent of the public oppose Congress “raising the number of hours a semi-truck driver is allowed to work in a week from 70 to 82 hours,” which is “more than twice the normal work week for most people,” as the poll question reads.
“This survey reveals a clear disconnect between what the public wants and what special trucking interests want from Congress at the expense of public safety for everyone,” Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety President Jackie Gillan said in conference call. “We urge Congress to reject this anti-safety change and heed the public’s correct assessment of the dangers.”
Pollster Joshua Ulenberry called the results “remarkable” and “impressive.”
“You do not get to 80 percent opposed in any question unless you have really wide and deep support,” he said, noting the bipartisan breakdown of the survey responses.
When Congress returns to Washington after next month’s elections, debate will resume on annual spending bills for federal agencies including the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development FY 2015 Appropriations bill. The Senate version, S. 2438, includes a rider sponsored by Sen. Susan Collins which would suspend the 2013 changes to the restart provision of the hours-of-service rule pending a review of the rule’s impact. That amendment passed the Senate Appropriations Committee by a bipartisan vote of 21-9 in June.
An amendment to strike the suspension, sponsored by Sen. Cory Booker and co-sponsored by Sen. Richard Blumenthal and others, is pending in the Senate.
