This week, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will be hosting a virtual listening session on motor carrier safety conformity determinations.
The virtual session will take place from 2:00-3:30pm ET on Wednesday, July 31. The event will be the third and final public hearing the agency will hold on the topic and the second session to be held virtually.
Like previous sessions, the upcoming virtual event will focus on “developing new methods to determine whether a motor carrier is unfit to operate a commercial motor vehicle in or affecting interstate commerce.”
“Specifically, the Agency wishes to hear from the public regarding concerns related to safety compliance determinations, including, for example, changing the three-tiered rating system (satisfactory, unsatisfactory, conditional) to a proposed single rating only if a carrier is found to be unqualified,” FMCSA said.
Last August, the FMCSA issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking, seeking comment on whether the process for determining motor carrier safety compliance should be revised.
In addition to the public comment period, which ends in November 2023, the agency announced three listening sessions as a way to gather feedback from industry stakeholders “before moving forward with the next steps in the rulemaking process.”
Participants must register in advance for the virtual listening session and can register online here. If you are unable to attend the session, written comments are also being accepted through August 7 at SafetyFitnessDetermination@dot.gov.
OOIDA comments on safety conformity assessment
In November, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association submitted formal comments to the agency, arguing that the current system is inefficient.
“FMCSA’s safety suitability determination process directly impacts a motor carrier’s ability to continue operating,” OOIDA said in a comment. “Historically, the safety suitability determination structure has not been demonstrated as a reliable method for adequately determining a motor carrier’s ability to continue operating. Most of the program’s shortcomings relate to inaccuracies and inconsistencies in the data collected and analyzed during safety investigations.”
The FMCSA reopened a comment period in January to give the public a chance to comment on reports that could help shape the rules, including data on in-vehicle monitoring systems. The association told the agency that the technology should not be allowed to enhance motor carrier ratings.
“Merely adopting and using a safety technology does not necessarily improve safety performance,” OOIDA said. “We believe that rewarding carriers who merely adopt safety technology without improving their actual safety performance will only benefit carriers who can afford expensive new technology.”
Charles Sperry, research analyst for the OOIDA Foundation, attended an in-person listening session at the Texas Trucking Show in Houston in June to present on behalf of the association, and he encourages all truckers to attend the next event and provide feedback.
“We can and will continue to be the voice crying out in the wilderness for the little trucker,” Sperry told Landline, “but it always helps if there are loads of voices out there backing us up. So even if you’re just out there yelling, ‘Yeah, I agree with that guy,’ please do that!” LL
