New leadership at DOT

The U.S. Department of Transportation has a new secretary, and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has a new acting administrator.

On Feb. 2, the U.S. Senate approved Pete Buttigieg’s nomination as DOT secretary by a vote of 86-13.

At age 39, the former South Bend, Ind., mayor became the youngest DOT secretary in history.

During Buttigieg’s confirmation hearing on Jan. 21, he took mostly a “wait-and-see” approach to questions relating to trucking. However, he touted the importance of the role that transportation and trucking plays for the country.

“I believe good transportation policy can play no less a role than making the American dream possible,” Buttigieg said at the hearing. “Getting people and goods where they need to be, directly and indirectly creating good-paying jobs.”

When asked about specific topics, such as if he would support an FMCSA pilot program to evaluate split sleeper berth options, he was noncommittal.

“I’d want to take a closer look at this and engage with stakeholders as well to make sure I understand how this pilot program squares the goals of worker and traveler safety with the goals of flexibility,” he said.

Regarding hours-of-service exemptions for livestock haulers, Buttigieg didn’t provide a stance on the topic but did admit that regulations can’t always be one-size-fits-all.

“Sometimes our policies can’t tell the difference between live animals and other kinds of cargo,” Buttigieg said in response to a question from Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont. “That’s something I’m eager to look into and work with you on.”

Buttigieg also declined to show all of his cards on NHTSA’s plan to modernize rules surrounding autonomous vehicles but suggested the technology could be here relatively soon.

“Automated vehicle technology is coming,” Buttigieg said. “It’s advancing very quickly. It is something that holds the potential to be transformative, and I think in many ways policy hasn’t kept up. I haven’t had a chance to evaluate this last step in detail, but I look forward to digging in on that. More broadly, making sure that we’re acting so that on the policy side we’re ready for all of the things that autonomous technology can bring to our roads and to our economy.”

Buttigieg also was noncommittal in answers to questions about speed limiters, underride guards, and under-21 drivers.

In response to questions about the DRIVE-Safe Act and lowering the interstate driving age to 18, Buttigieg said he wants to bring young people into trucking but will only do so if it doesn’t hinder safety.

“Providing career pathways for our younger Americans is essential to building a stronger economy and stronger communities,” Buttigieg wrote. “If confirmed, I look forward to working with you and FMCSA on ways to increase opportunities within the trucking industry without compromising our safety standards.”

FMCSA acting administrator

On Jan. 21, a day after President Joe Biden was inaugurated, Meera Joshi was named as the FMCSA’s acting administrator.

Joshi previously was commissioner of the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission.

According to Joshi’s LinkedIn page, she worked for the commission from 2011-19 as deputy commissioner of legal affairs and then served as chief executive officer and commission chair from 2014-19.

For the past year, Joshi worked as the New York general manager for Sam Schwartz, a planning, consulting and engineering firm dedicated to solving “highly complex” traffic and transportation challenges.

As of press time, it was unclear who Biden will nominate as the permanent FMCSA administrator.

Joshi replaces Wiley Deck, who took over as FMCSA’s acting administrator on Aug. 31. Deck replaced Jim Mullen, who served in the role from October 2019 through the end of August.

FMCSA has been without a permanent administrator since Ray Martinez stepped down in October 2019 to oversee a DOT construction project in Massachusetts.

Martinez started the agency’s march toward hours-of-service reform, and then Mullen and Deck helped get the changes across the finish line and into effect this past September. LL