Truckers bristle at anti-terror rules [View All]

[Rose Siding]

Con-Way Transportation Services' truck drivers mostly haul common household products such as house paint and nail polish - potentially hazardous to the environment if a truck tipped over, but hardly weapons of mass destruction.
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Beginning May 31, the 2.7 million truckers who haul materials that the government deems hazardous will face immigration and criminal background checks before they can renew special commercial licenses. The licenses allow them to haul everything from explosives and radioactive medical waste to Bic lighters and household cleaning products.
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But trucking companies and associations criticize the program, which has been in effect since Jan. 31 for drivers seeking hazardous-materials licenses for the first time. They say it's a costly, unnecessary burden for drivers and question whether it will enhance security.
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"We've already experienced drivers saying, 'I'm not going to go through this. I'll go work for Wal-Mart where I'll haul paper towels and power tools,' " says Cliff Harvison, president of National Tank Truck Carriers, which represents 210 trucking companies that employ about 40,000 drivers with hazardous-materials licenses.

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