Obama Says Truckers Must Pay Fine To Avoid New Climate Regs

The Obama administration is allowing trucking companies to buy their way out of a strict set of environmental regulations heaped on the trucking industry. The Environmental Protection Agency, with the help of National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), announced Tuesday changes to fuel emission standards for work trucks, vans and over-the-road semi-trucks under the guise of fighting global warming. Tucked deep inside the rulebook are a series of complicated stipulations allowing the U.S.’ trucking companies to pay fines if they are unable to comply with the regulators’ increasingly complicated rules. The new standards will affect engine performance standards for truck model years 2018-2027, and for semi-trucks, large pickup trucks, vans, and all types and sizes of buses and work trucks. Daniel Simmons, vice president for policy at the Institute Energy Research, told the Daily Caller News Foundation in July that the EPA’s decision is not surprising. The Obama administration is purposely attempting to hurt the automotive industry, he said. “The Ford F-150 is the most popular vehicle on the market to date,” Simmons said. “Ford has spent more than $1 billion to get the truck into compliance, yet it is still not in full compliance. So it’s ridiculous to believe that car companies not named Ford will be able to meet new, more stringent standards.” Ford’s F-150 Series accounts for 31 percent of the company’s North American sales and half of its profit in the region, compounding the problem, Barclays analyst Brian Johnson told Bloomberg in June...more