State lawmakers seek to tighten hazmat trucker standards

State lawmakers seek to tighten hazmat trucker standards In the wake of last month's tanker truck crash, explosion and fire that melted a section of the Bay Area's Interstate 580, Sacramento lawmakers Wednesday introduced legislation to toughen standards for truckers and truck firms that carry hazardous materials.
   Newly proposed Assembly Bill 1612 would levy fees on hazmat carriers and use the funds to support a California Highway Patrol program that inspects such trucks.
   The bill, co-authored by Assemblyman Mark DeSaulnier, D-Martinez, a member of the Assembly Transportation Committee, and Assemblyman Pedro Nava, D-Santa Barbara, the chair of the Assembly Transportation Committee and the Joint Committee on Emergency Services and Homeland Security, would also tighten standards under which drivers obtain licenses to drive vehicles carrying dangerous loads, such as gasoline.
   The two lawmakers specifically said the proposed legislation was motivated by the April 29 Bay Area incident, where the fire of a crashed gasoline truck caused the collapse of an elevated I-580 connector ramp onto an I-880 ramp below. Investigations discovered that the driver of the truck, who survived, had a background with drug use that many have said should have disqualified him from driving a hazmat vehicle. However, under current law, the driver was able to legitimately obtain his license.
   An additional component of AB1612 would change state law to provide only a 'provisional' license to commercial drivers who pass the written test to carry hazmat. Under the proposed language, a driver would have to maintain a good driver record with the provisional license for a certain period of time before receiving a regular license to carry hazmat.
   The bill, which is already on the State Senate calendar with different transportation-related language, is being rewritten with the newly proposed trucking regulations.