James ‘Whit’ Whittinghill Dies at 57

This story appears in the April 26 print edition of Transport Topics.

James “Whit” Whittinghill, the one-time chief lobbyist for American Trucking Associations, died April 15 at his home in Arlington, Va. He was 57.

Whittinghill headed ATA’s Capitol Hill office as senior vice president of legislative affairs from March 1998 until 2005.

“Whit was a valuable member of our advocacy team during a period of transition at ATA,” Bill Graves, ATA president, said last week.

“He leaves behind a number of good friends in the association,” Graves added. “Our deepest sympathies go out to his family.”

During his time at ATA, Whittinghill played a key role in helping shape the creation of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration in 1999, as well the government’s updated hours-of-service rules for truck drivers in 2003. 

He was also trucking’s main voice during the government’s debate on the federal highway funding law, passed in 2005 and still in effect.

“We won most of the issues in the highway bill,” Whittinghill said upon resigning from ATA in December 2005.

In that bill, ATA was able to secure several important victories, including the elimination of the Single State Registration Program, the enactment of a rule assigning the responsibility for intermodal chassis maintenance to the owners of the equipment, limitations on tolling and the conversion of Interstate highways to tolled highways, funding for truck parking and some hours-of-service exemptions.

Timothy Lynch, senior vice president for federation relations and strategic planning, assumed Whittinghill’s duties upon his resignation, and has served in the position since then.

“Whit was a forceful advocate for the trucking industry who would look you in the eye and tell you exactly what he was thinking,” Lynch said.

During his career, Whittinghill held a number of high-level positions, including deputy chief of staff for former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole (R-Kan.) and president of the Better America Foundation. More recently, he was an independent consultant and lobbyist.

Whittinghill was born in Billings, Mont.

He is survived by two children, Caroline and Patrick; four sisters; and two brothers.