OLYMPIA, Wash. — This story was originally posted on MyNorthwest.com
Truck drivers and trucking companies could see one of their registration fees double under a bill being considered in the legislature.
The legislature wants to make sure that the people behind the wheel of big rigs have the best possible training and continuing education if they want it.
House Bill 2410 would double the Commercial Vehicle Safety Enforcement Fee from $16 to $32. The money would be earmarked for safety and training.
The bill would also create a new safety and education council to oversee big rigs. This comes after several high-profile truck crashes have damaged bridges and overpasses in our state, and multiple crashes involving drivers without commercial driver’s licenses.
Trucking industry willing to ‘tax themselves’ for safety
State representative Jake Fey sponsored the legislation.
“The safety implications are very good,” Fey told the House Transportation Committee. “If we have better-educated truck drivers, we’re all safer, and we also benefit from fewer truck accidents.”
The state trucking association supports the idea, too.
“I was very pleased that the Washington Trucking Association came to me and is willing to voluntarily, for lack of a better word, tax themselves to provide more training and education for people driving with commercial driver’s licenses,” Rep. Fey said.
Under current law, only Washington residents can be issued a Washington CDL. That would not change under this legislation. Jason McFadden, who runs Ludtke Pacific Trucking in Bellingham, is also in favor of the increase. He testified in Olympia last week.
“As a trucking company owner, I think it’s a small fee to put on something where it has not been raised since 2007 for highway safety,” he said. “The trucking industry is lacking safety and education, and this is the most crucial piece of keeping our economy flowing and getting necessities delivered.”
State Representative Ed Orcutt raised the question: “Of the bridge strikes and of the truck accidents, how many of those were in state drivers versus out-of-state drivers?”
Several of the recent truck crashes, including the one that took out the Bullfrog overpass in Cle Elum, had out-of-state drivers behind the wheel.
This legislation does not address safety concerns for out-of-state drivers or the CDL mills that have been prosecuted in our state. It also does not address the rash of drivers who are being stopped without a proper CDL or who cannot speak English.
Chris Sullivan is a traffic reporter for KIRO Newsradio. Read more of his stories here. Follow KIRO Newsradio traffic on X.