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September 27, 2001 8:40 AM, EDT

Joseph Clapp was confirmed late Wednesday, by a voice vote of the U.S. Senate, as the first administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

(Michael James - TT) Joseph M. Clapp

The confirmation comes as, responding to the Sept. 11 disasters in New York and Washington, FMCSA officials are making ready to visit trucking companies that carry hazardous materials. Also, the FBI is giving extra scrutiny to anyone seeking a permit to carry hazardous materials.

Clapp’s nomination had been delayed by Citizens United for Safe and Reliable Highways, which had opposed it. The nomination was also the focus of a campaign by the American Trucking Associations, which favored Clapp.

Early Wednesday, Land Line magazine, owned by the Owner-Operators Independent Driver Association, had reported that Federal Highway Administration spokesman David Longo said the confirmation had been delayed, apparently as a result of CRASH’s protest.

RASH, a highway safety group, originally organized in the 1990s as an ally of the railroad industry, now claims a broad agenda of highway safety issues.

CRASH’s Web site asked its members to write their senators, asking them to question Clapp’s fitness to run a truck safety organization after his years as an executive at Roadway Express.

However, by that time, Clapp’s nomination had already passed through the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.

Calling attention to CRASH’s attempt to block Clapp, ATA Interim President and Chief Executive Officer William Canary sent a letter to ATA members calling on them to contact their senators and urge quick confirmation.

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