ATA: Rita relief requires relaxation of truck regulations

ATA: Rita relief requires relaxation of truck regulations    The American Trucking Associations Friday appealed to governors across the nation to extend emergency regulations instituted after Hurricane Katrina so trucking companies could also provide faster relief to areas hit by Hurricane Rita.
   Relaxing regulations will enable truckers to carry more relief supplies without delays, the Alexandria-based trucking group said.
   ATA Chief Executive Bill Graves, former governor of Kansas, asked governors to:
   * Make sure state police and other motor carrier safety enforcement personnel are aware the federal government has exempted truck drivers transporting goods as part of the relief effort from federal hours-of-service regulations limiting their work day.
   * Authorize the operation of heavier vehicles than would normally be allowed under state law, provided the trucks are shipping relief supplies to the affected area.
   * Direct the state's oversize and overweight permitting office to expedite the permitting process for loads intended to aid in the relief effort.
   * Waive requirements for purchase of trip permits for registration and fuel tax for motor carriers involved in direct relief efforts.
   * Offer leniency to drivers who are residents of the regions devastated by the hurricanes and whose commercial drivers' licenses may have expired.
   * Monitor fuel prices throughout individual states to ensure retailers do not take advantage of the uncertain situation regarding fuel supply.
   * Instruct weight enforcement personnel to give trucks a minimal weight tolerance so drivers who have filled their fuel tanks to capacity to avoid running out of fuel do not risk an overweight citation.
   * Implement Environmental Protection Agency waivers exempting refiners from providing low-sulfur diesel fuel.