PEORIA, Ill. — When the Mid-West Truck and Trailer Show opens on Feb. 7 in Peoria, legal issues and federal program delays will be the hot topics of discussion.
Delays in federal programs and rulemaking, questions about new marijuana laws and how they impact the trucking industry and how truck drivers and owners can deal with the fallout are the primary topics that invited speakers will address during the two-day show.
“We’ve got all these issues out there and none of them have really been resolved right now, so there’s a lot of upheaval,” said Don Schaefer, executive vice president of the Mid-West Truckers Association.
The show will run 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Feb. 7, and 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Feb. 8 at the Peoria Civic Center, Peoria.
The show includes an introductory keynote session with Alan Hanson, the chief counsel for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Hanson will open the show on Feb. 7 at the general session, which starts at 8:30 a.m.
“He is the person who is most qualified to deal with all the issues, and it’s a good time to have someone like that come and speak,” Schaefer said.
Schaefer said truckers and others in the industry are frustrated with delays in rolling out rules and programs that they must use to comply with various laws.
“You want compliance from an industry, but when you can’t even give that industry the means to do it, then there are problems,” Schaefer said.
He cited the hours of service rules, which have been a sore spot between the industry and federal agencies.
“The changes in the hours of service regulations that would have included provisions that allow drivers to break up their rest time, make better use of their driving time, not increase their driving time but make better use of the time, this was supposed to be on fast track a year ago. We’re still waiting for it,” he said.
Schaefer said the FMCSA’s drug and alcohol clearinghouse – an online database where prospective and current employers can go to check the drug and alcohol program violations status and where the drug and alcohol program violation of CDL drivers is automatically logged and kept – crashed in late 2019.
The online clearinghouse is now up and running, but Schaefer said the crash was an issue for the industry.
“This has been something that’s been worked on for 10 years. It’s not relatively simple, but it’s pretty straightforward. It’s just been a fiasco. Anybody who’s tried to comply with this new regulation can tell you how frustrating it’s been,” Schaefer said.
Another priority issue is how legal marijuana will impact the industry. Despite more states, including Illinois, legalizing the use of marijuana, marijuana still is a federal Schedule 1 illegal drug.
“We’ve got members who are involved in terms of how do you transport it? How do you move it from point A to point B? We’re waiting for some word from the Department of Agriculture and meanwhile, we’re going to have some discussion about it,” Schaefer said.
While it remains illegal for CDL drivers to use marijuana, including medical marijuana, Schaefer said the industry has concerns about other workers in the trucking and transportation industries.
“We’re going to talk about the impact of what rights do employers have under the recreational marijuana laws? They’re concerned about the people who drive forklifts, someone who uses heavy equipment, farm machinery, road graders and things like that. Those aren’t covered by the U.S. DOT rules, but it could have a definite impact because of the fact that everyone reacts differently to THC,” Schaefer said.
The two-day show includes informational and educational sessions on a variety of industry topics, as well as demonstrations, a trade show and events such as the Trucker’s Pride Truck Beauty Contest and the Trucker’s Pinewood Derby.
Mid-West Truck and Trailer Show
7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Feb. 7; and 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Feb. 8.
Peoria Civic Center, Peoria.
Admission is free with the Mid-West Truck and Trailer Show coupon from midwesttruckshow.com.