Changes to Ohio trucking rules impact landscapers

Charles Buck doesn't understand why his landscape business needs to spend money and jump through hoops to comply with vehicle regulations that until now have applied only to semis and other big trucks.

 

The co-owner of Buck & Sons Landscape Service in Hilliard said one of his drivers recently was warned by the State Highway Patrol that his vehicle didn't comply with new state motor-carrier regulations.

 

The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio has reduced the weight limit from 26,000 pounds to 10,000 pounds for vehicles that must meet more-stringent standards. Those include additional driver documentation, certification and physicals, plus additional vehicle inspections.

 

For more on the new regulations, click here. 

 

To Buck and other companies that use similar-size vehicles – essentially a pickup truck pulling a trailer – it's unnecessary and costly overkill.

 

"It's basically all the requirements they require for commercial drivers' licenses," Buck said. "We're not that kind of business. We're not huge trucks."

 

The situation has caught the attention of Rep. Cheryl Grossman, R-Grove City, who said she is working with the PUCO and exploring a potential legislative remedy.

 

"We want to make sure vehicles are safe traveling Ohio's roadways, but putting unnecessary regulatory burdens on Ohio's drivers at a time when they can least afford it is irresponsible," she said.

 

Grossman said the PUCO is taking the regulations too far and should apply them only to smaller vehicles carrying hazardous materials.

 

But PUCO spokeswoman Shana Eiselstein said Ohio's regulations with regard to hazardous materials and private carriers were inconsistent with federal standards. Without changes, first approved in 2008, she said the state could lose nearly $7 million a year in federal funding that pays for 110 vehicle-safety inspectors.

 

"We are working to address the concerns the parties have regarding this issue," she said, adding that the focus is on safety.

 

The PUCO planned to start issuing fines for smaller truck violations starting Jan. 1. But after a hearing in mid-October raised questions from some who would be affected, the PUCO could delay enforcement for up to a year, Eiselstein said.