Regulatory road map

In trucking, regulations come with the territory. Many, of course, are burdensome and make it even more difficult to run your business.

The last thing most truck drivers want to hear about is the next regulation the government has in store. Rarely, though, does a year go by where the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration doesn’t propose a significant rulemaking.

For better or worse, truckers need to know what’s ahead. That way, they can fight the ones that will only make the job more difficult without benefiting safety and push ahead the few that attempt to improve the profession.

In June, the Biden administration released its 2022 regulatory agenda. FMCSA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have dozens of rules making their way through the regulatory process.

Let Land Line guide you through the good and the bad, including the ones in your immediate path and those to expect later down the road.

Speed limiters

Talk of a speed limiter mandate prompted thousands of truck drivers to take part in the regulatory process.

In May, FMCSA issued a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking to consider requiring most commercial motor vehicles to be speed limited. Commercial motor vehicles with a gross vehicle weight of 26,001 pounds or more and that are equipped with an electronic engine control unit capable of being governed would be subject to the mandate. A speed had not been determined, but previous proposals floated the possibilities of 60, 65 or 68 miles per hour.

The opposition has been plentiful. As of press time in mid-July, about 15,000 comments had been posted to the docket. A staggering majority of those commenters opposed any such proposal, pointing out that studies show speed differentials can lead to an increase in crashes.

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association strongly opposes any action that would mandate speed limiters.

“Studies and research have proven that traffic is safest when all vehicles travel at the same relative speed,” OOIDA wrote. “Limiting trucks to speeds below the flow of traffic increases interactions between vehicles and will lead to more crashes. Any efforts to mandate speed limiters will take more control out of the driver’s hands and penalize small businesses.”

As of press time, the comment period was set to end July 18.

Even if you didn’t comment this time around, future notices are expected. The good news for those opposed, however, is that the agency doesn’t appear to be in a hurry.

The speed limiter rulemaking remains in FMCSA’s long-term actions, and a second notice of proposed rulemaking isn’t projected until June 2023.

Underride guards

Projected to be released as an advance notice of proposed rulemaking, NHTSA is expected to consider requirements for side underride guards on trailers and semitrailers to mitigate underride crashes into the side of these vehicles.

The rulemaking would respond to a 2013 petition from the Truck Safety Coalition. In addition, it would aim to fulfill the 2021 infrastructure law’s requirements to conduct research on side underride guards to assess their effectiveness, feasibility, costs and benefits. It also is expected that the advance notice of proposed rulemaking will inform the agency whether or not to move forward with a rulemaking to mandate side underride guards.

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association remains opposed to any requirements for underride guards on the sides or front of tractor-trailers.

In comments regarding underride mandates in 2021, OOIDA called the measures costly and impractical.

“OOIDA opposes efforts that would mandate the installation of front and side underride guards on all (commercial motor vehicles) and trailers exceeding 10,000 pounds in gross vehicle weight,” the Association wrote. “Over the last several years, NHTSA has considered numerous options involving side underride guards but has consistently concluded federal mandates would be impractical and costly, thus outweighing any perceived safety benefits. Any proposals to mandate side underride guards disregards this reality and ignores the safety, economic, and operational concerns that have been raised by industry stakeholders.”

As of press time, the advance notice of proposed rulemaking was expected to publish in the Federal Register later in July. However, NHTSA is just beginning the prerule stage of the process and would have several more steps to complete before a final rule could be issued.

Self-insurance

FMCSA is projected to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking regarding self-insurance in April 2023.

The agency will propose to amend fees collected for the processing of new self-insurance applications and add fees for ongoing monitoring of carrier compliance with the self-insurance program requirements.

According to the agenda, application fees would be directed to FMCSA’s licensing and insurance account, while monitoring fees must be sent to the Treasury. The rulemaking would aim to ensure that the limited number of primarily large motor carriers that benefit from the program bear a proportionate cost of participating in the program.

Automatic emergency braking systems

FMCSA and NHTSA plan to kick off 2023 with a joint rulemaking that seeks comments on a proposal to require and/or standardize equipment performance for automatic emergency braking systems on heavy trucks.

The rulemaking is expected to propose performance standards and motor carrier maintenance requirements for automatic emergency brakes on heavy trucks and accompanying test procedures for measuring performance.

The proposal is in the prerule stage, and the agencies are scheduled to issue an advance notice of proposed rulemaking in January.

OOIDA remains opposed to any mandates calling for the automatic emergency braking systems.

“This technology is not quite perfected yet,” said Jay Grimes, OOIDA’s director of federal affairs. “We still see a lot of errors and problems with it. A rushed mandate is certainly not the direction we think things should be going in terms of safety.”

ELD mandate revision

Although many truckers would love to see the electronic logging mandate be rescinded, FMCSA plans to consider revising the rule to address concerns about harassment resulting from the mandatory use of ELDs.

“Many lessons have been learned by FMCSA staff, state enforcement personnel, ELD vendors, and industry in the intervening years,” the agency wrote. “These lessons can be used to streamline and improve the clarity of the regulatory text and ELD specifications and answer recurring questions. Additionally, there are technical modifications responsive to concerns raised by affected parties that could improve the usability of ELDs. FMCSA is seeking information to determine what changes would be warranted.”

An advance notice of proposed rulemaking is expected to be published this August.

Safety fitness procedures

FMCSA wants feedback on how it could use data and resources more effectively to identify unfit motor carriers and take them off the road.

The public will be asked to comment on possible changes to the current three-tier safety fitness rating structure. The action also would include a review of the list of Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations that the agency uses in its safety fitness rating methodology.

As of press time, an advance notice of proposed rulemaking was scheduled for late July.

Broker responsibility

FMCSA plans soon to resume a rulemaking process that began in September 2018. Then, the agency asked for comments regarding broker and freight forwarder financial responsibility.

Prompted by 2012’s Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act, or MAP-21, FMCSA was considering a proposal aimed at revoking the license of a broker whose bond falls below the federally required minimum of $75,000.

MAP-21 increased the financial security amount for brokers to $75,000 and for the first time established financial security requirements for freight forwarders.

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association was a big advocate for increasing the bond amount from $10,000.

“To OOIDA members, the most important aspect of this rulemaking is the implementation of the statutory requirement that FMCSA immediately suspend the registration of a broker if the available financial security of that broker falls below the currently required $75,000,” the Association wrote in its 2018 comments. “It is critical that FMCSA’s final rule implements the imperatives and timeliness provided in the statute to act quickly by suspending a broker’s authority before the broker’s nonpayment to motor carriers results in claims on its bond or trust in an aggregate amount of more than $75,000.”

FMCSA expects to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking in December – more than four years after the advance notice and 10 years after MAP-21.

Automated driving systems

The agency is working toward a rulemaking aimed at making sure automated driving systems equipped on commercial motor vehicles are safe before being deployed on America’s highways.

“The proposed changes to the (commercial motor vehicle) operations, inspection, repair, and maintenance regulations prioritize safety and security, promote innovation, foster a consistent regulatory approach to (automated driving system) equipped CMVs, and recognize the difference between human operators and automated driving systems,” FMCSA wrote.

An advance notice of proposed rulemaking was issued in 2019, and a notice of proposed rulemaking is planned for January.

As part of its 2019 comments, OOIDA said it hoped federal regulators wouldn’t put on “blinders and push for more technology as the answer to the trucking industry’s problems.”

CDL testing

This August, FMCSA is expected to publish a notice of proposed rulemaking regarding the benefits of allowing state driver licensing agencies to administer the CDL knowledge test before issuing a commercial learner’s permit.

In addition, the agency wants feedback on whether the agencies should administer the CDL skills test to permit holders who live in other states.

“The information will help FMCSA determine whether greater flexibility in CDL administration can promote greater efficiency while maintaining necessary safety standards,” the agency wrote.

Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse

The agency is considering revisions to the rule.

“Based on experience in administering the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse requirements, FMCSA is proposing changes to streamline and improve error-correction procedures, queries, and consent requirements.”

A notice of proposed rulemaking is scheduled for November.

Emergency exemptions

FMCSA is looking at ways to clarify the applicability of emergency exemptions.

The agency plans to propose a rule that would narrow the automatic applicability of an emergency declaration.

“This would clarify the regulations and ensure that carriers and drivers are not authorized to overlook other important safety measures while performing direct assistance to emergency relief efforts,” FMCSA wrote. “The action would also require carriers to report certain information pertaining to their use, frequency and nature of materials transported under a declaration. The data collection is important and will help inform FMCSA decision-making relating to emergency declarations.”

As of press time, a notice of proposed rulemaking was set to publish in late July. LL