One thing industry doesn't want: more regulation

What does the "industry" need from the government?

So many of us have bipolar emotions related to politics and our leaders, red and blue. 

Is there a middle ground?

Here is a question I posed to the LinkedIn Fresh Produce Industry Group, "What one thing should the government do to help the industry thrive?"

There are five days of voting left, but here are the results after about 30 initial responses:

• Educate public on healthy food: 27%
• Streamline H-2A program: 50%
• Farm bill investments: 8%
• Other: 15%

I would love to see more responses to this question.

Are the industry's expectations of government beaten down by the intractability of immigration and the blows inflicted by the COVID-19 pandemic? Or, perhaps, is there still hope for bipartisan agreement and investment in the industry?

The multiple-choice poll didn't allow for unlimited potential answers, so choices like "more regulations" didn't make the cut. "Give us more regulation," said no industry ever (with rare exceptions: see the E. coli spinach crisis). 

The anti-regulation sentiment is appearing again within the ranks of truckers, I noticed when I was browsing recent activity on regulations.gov.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has announced its intent to proceed with speed limiter rulemaking. The notice of rulemaking will propose, according to a document on regulations.gov, that motor carriers operating commercial motor vehicles in interstate commerce that are equipped with an electronic engine control unit capable of governing the maximum speed be required to limit the commercial motor vehicle to a speed to be determined by the rulemaking and to maintain that ECU setting for the service life of the vehicle.

A couple of questions among the dozen or so that the FMCSA is looking for input on:

1. What percentage of the CMV fleet currently uses speed limiting devices?

2. If in use, at what maximum speed are the devices generally set?

The notice was issued in early May, with a June 3 comment for deadlines. Already, more than 5,400 comments have posted, with thousands more surely to come.

Here is a sampling of the driver sentiment:

• As a truck driver myself, I feel the system is overly regulated. If we restrict truck under the average speed limit, it will slow deliveries when traveling cross-country, especially with the 14-hour rule as it is. Especially when the national speed limit average is 70-75 mph and places like California where the speed limit for trucks is 55. Regulating trucks could cause even more of a delay if we are forced to be well under the national highway speed limit. Privately owned vehicles should be regulated more, since they cause the lion share of the major accidents and major delays we have to face on a daily basis. The government needs to stay out of the way and let the truck drivers do their jobs instead of regulating our speeds and slowing down the process of delivering much-needed supplies and foods to hurting families. Especially when these items like fruits and vegetables that have a limited shelf life before making it to the shelves of grocery stores before their expiration since they are a very perishable food. If you do decide to regulate, then I would suggest 75 mph max.
• In the 14 years I've been driving, I honestly think that limiting a semi is like putting lives at risk. I mean, think about it. Would you want your family on the road next [to] and/or around a semi that can't get out of its own way if need be? Secondly, truckers have 11 hours to get to where we have to be in a day. In retrospect, if you all decided to slow us down even more, I gather you will see a lot more death and a lot more questions arise about the poor judgment and ruling. All I'm asking is to put yourself in our shoes. I bet none of you have ever stepped foot in a semi [and] don't know a thing about how it operates. Maybe you all should take a ride-along to see the challenges we face while we supply the country day/night, 24/7, 365. 

I think the government would do well to listen to the truckers on this issue. In fact, 99 times out of 100, less regulation is the answer. Not more.