HazMat Truckers Not Happy

The Patriot Act has directly effected my business:

WASHINGTON (AP) - Truckers complained to Congress on Tuesday that requirements for hauling hazardous waste are doing more to harm them than to protect citizens from terrorists.

A portion of the anti-terror Patriot Act passed in October 2001 requires background checks and fingerprints of haulers of hazardous materials.

But truckers and trucking company representatives said the definition of hazardous materials is too broad, encompassing even drivers who carry such non-threatening substances as paint, nail polish and soft drink syrup.

Drivers must spend $94 to $134 for the checks and some must drive hundreds of miles from their homes or terminals to the fingerprint location, said Michael Laizure, a member of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association.

Other complaints: Canadian and Mexican truck drivers aren't required to have background checks, and the crimes that disqualify truck drivers from carrying hazardous materials - writing a bad check, for example - are too broad.

As soon as the laws were passed I told the truckers who haul hazardous materials and waste that the law was too vague. That's becoming much more evident.