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Clean Truck Plan * USA - Losing Traction. Confusion and threat of lawsuits block progress
Opinion: “It’s definitely a recipe for disaster”
Los Angeles,CAL,USA -The Los Angeles Business Journal, by RICHARD CLOUGH -26 May 2008: -- Despite the fast-approaching October start date for a massive truck replacement program at the local ports, motor carriers are largely sitting idle, making it unlikely that it can be smoothly implemented in the coming months... Los Angeles and Long Beach port officials have worked for more than a year on a clean-air initiative that will reduce emissions by funding the replacement of about 16,000 short-haul diesel trucks in San Pedro Bay. But with just a few months left before the ports will require motor carriers to scrap their oldest rigs, few local trucking companies have begun making plans to turn over their fleets, despite the fact that new trucks often take months to procure... While some trucking executives cite a general confusion about the program for their lack of movement, many others are expecting a possible lawsuit by the American Trucking Association, an industry trade group, to mire the ports in a legal battle that could derail the program for months, or even years... The most controversial provision in the clean-air plan has been adopted only by the Los Angeles port; it will force trucking companies to end the practice of contracting with independent drivers and instead hire employees to operate company trucks... A lawsuit could delay key elements of the program, and if a lawsuit does not materialize or is quickly dismissed, many motor carriers would be unprepared when the program begins... “It’s definitely a recipe for disaster,” said Kristen Monaco, a trucking expert and professor at California State University Long Beach. “Everyone’s anticipating that the lawsuit will hold everything up for a while. If there’s no lawsuit I think everyone will be shocked and a little unprepared.”...
Labels: Clean Truck Program debate
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