May 16, 2006, Grain Valley, MO - Rick Craig, Director of Regulatory Affairs for the Owner-Operator Independent Driver's Association, has been appointed to the Unified Carrier Registration (UCR) Board of Directors.

The 15-member board, established by the Secretary of Transportation, is made up of representatives from federal and state agencies as well as representatives from the trucking industry.

Craig is one of five people representing the trucking industry on the board and will represent the voice of small-business truckers in the development of the new UCR Agreement.

The program was mandated in the current highway funding legislation that was signed into law in August 2005. It is the replacement system for the Single State Registration System, which is due to expire on Jan. 1, 2007. The board members will be responsible for establishing rules and regulations.

Craig, who has been involved in the trucking industry for more than 30 years, currently serves on FMCSA's Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Belt Partnership, the Transportation Research Board's Safety IDEA Committee, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance and the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators.

Craig also has served on committees with the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators and the National Governor's Association.

He was elected to the OOIDA Board of Directors in 1988 and joined the Association staff full-time in 1991. In addition to his regulatory involvement, Craig also holds the position of Executive Director of the OOIDA Foundation, a nonprofit organization whose purpose is to conduct research and provide education on issues that affect truckers such as economic conditions, safety issues and truck equipment.

Contact: John Liebnitz, Public Relations Coordinator (816) 229-5791

Founded in 1973, OOIDA is the largest organization of professional truckers in the country, comprised of more than 140,000 owner-operators, professional drivers and small business truckers from all 50 states and Canada.