Ten states have adopted Governor Gavin Newsom’s Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT) regulations, which call for phasing out gas and diesel engines and replacing them with zero-emission such as plug-in electric and hydrogen-electric (electric).
States that have enacted California’s regulations should be on notice. The regulations are not economically or technologically feasible. Heavy-duty electric trucks are not in mass production, and inventories of combustion engines have declined in California by over 80%, which is compounded when enacted in conjunction with the Heavy-Duty Omnibus Regulation. In a memo to the California Air Resources Board members, staff acknowledged that the regulations have contributed to shortages of combustion engines.
While electric trucks are not new, truck manufacturers have not developed alternatives that meet a towing and recovery truck’s travel range, performance, and safety standards. Nor is it a production priority for many manufacturers since few towing and recovery vehicles are sold compared to freight and delivery trucks. The current electric truck chassis does not have sufficient space and rail strength for the heavy body, hydraulic equipment, and massive batteries that would be necessary. The batteries cannot sustain the truck during long patrols, which is problematic for rural areas of the state, nor can they operate the hydraulics over long periods as required during major accident and recovery duties. Having to recall a towing or recovery truck for recharging during an emergency recovery effort could come with life-threatening consequences.
The federal waiver issued by the Biden-Harris Administration requires states that have enacted California’s regulations to enforce them as written. However, as states learn that the regulations are impacting the inventories of combustion engines, some states are selectively implementing provisions of the regulations or delayed them altogether.
Emergency vehicles such as police and fire trucks are exempt from the regulations. Government-owned tow trucks, representing a small fraction of the tow trucks on the road, are also exempt. Some states selectively enforce provisions to allow exemptions, such as for snowplows owned by public agencies.
When the California Air Resources Board (CARB) exempted emergency vehicles from the regulations, they did not consider that the California Vehicle Code 165 only classifies government-owned towing and recovery trucks as emergency vehicles. As a result, truck manufacturers have started limiting allocations of new, cleaner towing and recovery chassis to California. Once current inventories expire, no new tow trucks will be manufactured or sold.
Towing and recovery drivers provide 24/7 roadside assistance to millions of American motorists, supporting first responders and clearing road accidents and mechanical breakdowns. As the service life of existing tow and recovery trucks expires, no new inventory of trucks will be built or sold. A lack of adequate towing and recovery vehicles means longer waits for motorists, more gas and more smog. Chain reaction accidents are common on freeways, and the longer traffic is stalled, the more likely additional accidents will occur.
In a few months, even the cleanest, most modern new towing and recovery truck chassis and bodies will no longer be assembled or sold, putting the businesses and jobs of those who assemble them at risk. As a warning to other states that have adopted California’s regulations, new lower-emission trucks will no longer be available to drivers as current towing and recovery trucks retire and are not replaced.
The need for a solution is urgent. Remarkably, government-owned towing and recovery vehicles, deemed emergency vehicles, are exempt from this new regulation. So, the solution is simple. Until new electric engine technology can support towing and recovery trucks, states that have adopted CARB’s regulations should classify ALL towing and recovery trucks as emergency vehicles.
No, because when California established its emission reduction goals, towing and recovery trucks were not included in these climate change objectives until the technology was advanced enough to meet industry needs. CARB assumed ALL towing and recovery trucks would be exempt until later, when electric towing and recovery truck technology was developed. Currently, no known electric truck designed to serve as a towing and recovery vehicle is in mass production. The University of California, Berkeley found that the adequate availability of tow trucks under the Freeway Service Patrol actually reduces emissions and saves motorists money by reducing the frequency and duration of traffic jams and follow along accidents.
When the California Air Resources Board (CARB) adopted the Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT) and Heavy-Duty Omnibus (Omnibus) regulations, which mandate electric truck sales and emission reductions, ten states adopted California’s rules. That was then, not now. Movements are underway in all 11 states that adopted the regulations, and a number of states have already delayed their implementation.
Yes. Used trucks can be purchased from neighboring states that have not adopted the regulations. This loophole will create jobs in non-ACT states as they sell higher-emission, used tow trucks at inflated costs to towing service companies in ACT-compliant states.
Call upon your governor and state legislature to classify all towing and recovery trucks as emergency vehicles—and now. CLICK HERE to join an online petition and contact the Governor and State Legislators when you receive calls to action.
