FMCSA administrator hits the ground running

To say the federal government has been busy addressing longstanding industry issues over the past year would be an understatement.

Since President Donald Trump returned to the White House, the Department of Transportation and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration have been on an enforcement blitz to clean up the trucking industry.

Land Line caught up with FMCSA Administrator Derek Barrs for an exclusive one-on-one interview to discuss those efforts and what lies ahead.

Non-domiciled CDLs and English proficiency

In effect since March 16, there are stricter rules for obtaining a non-domiciled CDL that state driver’s license agencies must follow. A lot of truck drivers have raised concerns that it could take five years to eliminate non-domiciled CDL holders to get their license before March 16. Barrs said that isn’t the case.

“I don’t know where this ‘five years’ thing comes in, but it is over a period of time,” Barrs said. “When a driver’s license is issued, it could have been issued up to five years. That would be probably the maximum at that particular time, but that should have been issued to them legally in their legal status at that time. We have asked the states that we’ve done investigations on that you must downgrade those CDLs if they were not issued properly.”

The investigations Barrs mentioned examined the non-domiciled CDL process across many states. That audit found numerous systematic issues. Those states have not been allowed to issue non-domiciled CDLs until those problems have been fixed.

Chameleon carriers and bad actors

A hot topic among truck drivers is chameleon carriers. The problem is these chameleons are not doing a good job of blending in. So why are they still operating?

Chameleon carriers and nefarious trucking companies can be easy to spot. Internet sleuths have identified numerous carriers using the same apartment complexes or vacant office as their place of business. Land Line asked Barrs if this is something FMCSA plans on looking into.

“Not going to … are,” Barrs said. “We are, and the answer is ‘Yes.’”

Barrs said FMCSA is making sure carriers have a physical address as their principal place of business, not a P.O. Box. As for the addresses attached to a large number of carriers? He said the agency knows what is going on and is working on it.

“My message to those individuals would be … it might be in their best interest to get right, because at the end of the day if we find out that you’re not, we’re going to do everything that we can do in our power that we have regulatory authority to do to make sure that we shut you down if you’re not doing the proper thing.”

Raising the barrier of entry

Is it too easy to become a carrier or broker? Many in the industry believe so, and so does Barrs.

The FMCSA leader told Land Line that the agency’s rulemaking team is developing a notice of proposed rulemaking related to new entrants.

“We have to raise that barrier,” Barrs said. “The same way that your CDL should actually mean something, your DOT number and your company name should mean something. It’s kind of like your last name and my last name. To me, that means something to them. Why would you not want that for your company?”

FMCSA is upgrading its 40-year-old registration system with one that uses biometrics, streamlines processes and strengthens fraud prevention.

Broker transparency

FMCSA has said a highly anticipated broker transparency rulemaking will be published in May.

Barrs was fairly tight-lipped about that when talking to Land Line in March. He spoke in general terms about what he is looking forward to when the notice of proposed rulemaking hits the docket.

“I welcome those comments as I continue to learn and our agency begins to understand better how we can better serve in that particular area of trucking.”

Listening to truck drivers

Something unusual happened at the Mid-America Trucking Show, where this interview took place: truck drivers embraced the FMCSA administrator.

For the first time in a long time, drivers feel like their concerns are being heard and addressed. Barrs emphasized that sentiment rings true. FMCSA may not please everybody, he said, but the agency is listening.

“I realize we can’t be all things to all people,” Barrs said. “At the end of the day, what we’re trying to do is to be safety-minded, safety-conscious, and listening and not putting our heads in the sand and truly listening to the people that are boots on the ground and doing this work every single day.” LL