DOT’s ‘Pro-Trucker Package’ removes regs to protect truckers

Although truck parking, speed limiters and hours of service were arguably the hot-button issues from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s “Pro-Trucker Package,” they were not the only efforts aimed at improving the truck driving profession.

In addition to increasing truck parking capacity, stopping a speed limiter mandate and exploring ways to add flexibility to the hours-of-service regulations, the DOT announced on June 27 a total of nine initiatives that would “remove one-size-fits-all mandates, modernize driver resources, slash red tape and crack down on bad actors.”

DataQ reform

Saying that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s data review, or DataQ, system is broken, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association led the charge for reform that would ensure due process for truck drivers.

“This system is supposed to provide carriers and drivers a fair way to challenge potentially incorrect citations or FMCSA data,” OOIDA Executive Vice President Lewie Pugh told members of a House subcommittee in March. “Unfortunately, determinations are not made in a timely or consistent manner, and too often, a determination is made by the same person who issued the initial violation, which creates an inherent conflict of interest. This is problematic, because unmerited violations and inaccurate information on an owner-operator or professional driver’s safety record can negatively affect their employment or increase their insurance costs, among other consequences.”

The DOT was listening and is taking steps to improve the DataQ process.

“The agency is proposing revisions to the DataQ requirements for Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program grant funding to ensure proper due process for drivers,” the DOT wrote. “The goal is to improve the impartiality, timeliness and fairness of the data review process.”

On July 1, FMCSA published a notice with details about its proposal to improve the appeals process.

FMCSA’s proposal would require states to incorporate a multi-level review process for Request for Data Reviews, escalating the review from the DataQ analyst in the state MCSAP Lead Agency to a responsible decision-maker or panel of subject matter experts. Each state would be required to submit a DataQ Implementation Plan to FMCSA detailing how its agency would meet FMCSA’s requirements for each stage of the data review process.

FMCSA will accept comments on its DataQ proposal through Sept. 2. To make a comment, go to the Regulations.gov website and enter Docket No. FMCSA-2023-0190.

ELD exemption

When the controversial electronic logging device mandate took effect in 2017, pre-2000 trucks were exempt and could continue to use paper logs to track hours of service.

In 2022, FMCSA sought information on whether that exemption should be removed.

OOIDA, which fought the original ELD mandate by petitioning the U.S. Supreme Court, was quick to oppose any attempts at removing the exemption.

“Our members have vigorously opposed the ELD mandate since its inception,” OOIDA wrote in comments signed by President Todd Spencer in 2022. “There was never sufficient research indicating the mandate would improve highway safety, and the agency still lacks data demonstrating any positive safety results since its full implementation.”

As part of the DOT plan, the administration confirmed that it would not be moving forward on a rulemaking that would mandate the use of ELDs for older trucks.

Double brokering

OOIDA and individual truckers have spoken out about criminal activity involving brokers.

“As motor carriers are increasingly victimized by freight fraud, unpaid claims, dubious charges, unpaid loads and double brokered loads, the current lack of transparency has left them little to no means to defend themselves from these schemes,” Pugh told lawmakers.

In 2020, OOIDA petitioned FMCSA to enforce existing broker transparency regulations as one way to combat the problem. The agency issued a proposal in 2024 that received nearly 7,000 comments.

Although the DOT didn’t specifically address the broker transparency rulemaking, it promised a “renewed focus” on combating unlawful double brokering. As of press time, a specific plan to do so had not been released.

Deregulatory actions

At a House hearing in 2019, Spencer held up the “big green book” of Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations to illustrate the number of regulations that truck drivers must follow.

Spencer told lawmakers that many of those regulations have nothing to do with highway safety and need to be removed.

Six years later, the DOT is taking steps in that direction. Earlier this year, the agency asked the public to comment about regulations that could be rescinded without hindering safety. In May, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced dozens of deregulatory actions.

NCCDB and FMCSA’s Driver Resource page

FMCSA wants to make its resources more accessible to truck drivers. That’s why two of the DOT’s initiatives involve updates to the agency’s National Consumer Complaint Database and its Driver Resource webpage.

The NCCDB is the place for truckers to file complaints to FMCSA about coercion, fraud and unsafe practices. The Driver Resource page is meant to provide truckers with information about entry-level driver training and other programs.

OOIDA told Congress and regulators that the NCCDB has done a poor job of responding to truckers’ complaints. Additionally, the Association said the program would benefit from a new name that better reflects its purpose.

Although it is unclear if FMCSA plans to rename the NCCDB, the agency will update both websites to make them mobile-friendly for truck drivers. LL