Transparency at issue in lobbying over truck lengths

In the battle on allowing longer trucks on highways, both rail and trucking interests are recruiting state troopers to make their arguments before Congress, according to a story in the New York Times April 1.

In some cases, the law enforcement officers did not realize that the Coalition Against Bigger Trucks is funded primarily by the Association of American Railroads.

The Coalition Against Bigger Trucks describes itself as a "national, nonprofit grassroots organization with coalitions of nearly 5,000 local supporters in over 30 states." AAR contributed $1.2 million to the organization in 2012 and again in 2103.

Congress must act by May 31 to reauthorize highway programs, and once again the lobbying war between rail and trucking is heating up over maximum truck lengths.

The New York Times article said the CABT paid airfare and expenses for police chiefs, sheriffs and other officers to lobby against bigger trucks in Washington, D.C. One retired South Carolina state trooper, David Latimer, was asked to resign from his post as vice chairman of the National Troopers Coalition after inquiries from the New York Times. The article said he was paid $70,000 a year by the coalition.

Major shipping companies have funded the Coalition for Efficient & Responsible Trucking to promote longer trucks. Although the group has been public about backers, it did not initially note that FedEx commissioned a research report that concluded longer trucks might be safer, the article said. http://nyti.ms/1OZ5WCR

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