DOT targets dozens of ‘unnecessary’ regulations

Although no “big-ticket” items were included, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s first round of deregulatory actions took steps toward making FMCSA’s big green book of federal regulations a little smaller.

In late May, the DOT announced more than 50 proposals or final rules aimed at streamlining the Code of Federal Regulations. The actions made by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the Federal Highway Administration and the National Traffic Safety Administration target “redundant” rules with “no real-life application,” the DOT said in a news release.

“Big government has been a big failure,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said. “Under President Trump’s leadership, my department is slashing duplicative and outdated regulations that are unnecessarily burdensome, waste taxpayer dollars and fail to ensure safety. These are commonsense changes that will help us build a more efficient government that better reflects the needs of the American people.”

Regulatory rollback

Since President Donald Trump took office in January, the administration has promised to decrease the amount of regulatory burdens on businesses.

On Jan. 31, Trump issued an executive order requiring that at least 10 regulations be identified for elimination before a new regulation is issued.

In April, the DOT asked the public to help identify regulations that could be modified, repealed or amended without hindering safety. The public, including truck drivers, responded with more than 900 comments providing recommendations on regulations they believed could be removed.

Many of the comments from truckers focused on primary issues, such as hours-of-service regulations, the electronic logging device mandate and the speed limiter proposal.

Although these initial deregulatory actions do not address any of those concerns, the DOT did take steps toward removing some of the mundane requirements that are often “duplicative.”

FMCSA’s actions

On May 27, FMCSA announced it was issuing two final rules and 18 notices of proposed rulemaking.

One of the most noteworthy proposals involves plans to rescind the requirement that rear impact guards must be permanently marked or labeled with a certification from the manufacturer.

“This proposal would eliminate an unintended regulatory burden on motor carriers without compromising safety, as this notice of proposed rulemaking would not affect the applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard,” FMCSA wrote in the notice.

Late last year, FMCSA issued guidance explaining that faded or missing rear-impact guard labels do not indicate a compliance issue. The clarification was issued in response to efforts by the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance and the American Trucking Associations.

The guidance was an important step toward making the focus the condition of the rear-impact guards rather than the label. The proposal would eliminate the label requirement altogether and remove the need for the regulatory guidance related to faded or missing labels.

Some of those proposals include rescinding such requirements as having the electronic logging device operator’s manual inside the vehicle, possessing spare fuses, making CDL holders self-report motor vehicle violations to their state of domicile.

The DOT called the ELD operating manual unnecessary, as the information can be found online. In addition, the agency said the spare fuses regulation was “outdated” and that the self-reporting rule is no longer necessary, as states now exchange that information electronically.

The public will have through July 29 to comment on all 18 deregulatory proposals. Once those comments are reviewed, the agency will determine whether to move forward with a final rule.

More to come?

Removing some of the procedural and duplicative regulations on the books is certainly a start, but truckers are hopeful the administration will take aim at some of the regs that have the largest effects on their business and everyday lives.

In their comments, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association and the Small Business Administration asked the DOT to provide more flexibility within the hours-of-service regulations.

“Small-business representatives stated that the existing hours-of-service rules are not sensible for today’s trucking industry because they force truckers to be on the road when they are tired, during busy travel times and during hazardous weather and road conditions,” the agency wrote.

Prompted by a petition from OOIDA, FMCSA modified its hours-of-service regulations in 2020. Those modifications involved exceptions for short haul and adverse driving conditions, a sleeper berth provision and a change to the 30-minute break requirement. However, OOIDA and individual truckers don’t believe those changes went far enough.

OOIDA wants the regulation modified to allow truckers to “pause” their clock and to utilize expanded split sleeper-berth options, such as 6/4 and 5/5.

It is unclear if the DOT is willing to make additional changes to the hours of service in Trump’s second term.

Truckers also asked for an end to the ELD mandate, but that is a bigger ask, as the requirement was passed into law by Congress.

The item on truckers’ wish list that is most likely to come to fruition is the end of FMCSA’s speed limiter proposal. Truck drivers contend that limiting trucks to speeds well below the posted speed limit will create dangerous speed differentials between cars and trucks.

Trump’s administration killed a speed limiter proposal in his first term. All signs indicate he will do the same in his second term. LL