U.S. DOT report indicates rulemakings coming in 2023

With numerous rulemakings on the agenda, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is planning on a busy 2023.

Even more, the agency plans to kick off the year with several notices projected to publish in January.

The U.S. Department of Transportation released a Significant Rulemaking Report in the fall. While the dates for the rulemakings are all projections, the report does provide a glimpse into what FMCSA is working on and in what order.

Broker responsibility, safety fitness, automatic emergency braking systems and automated driving systems are all topics FMCSA plans to address in the first month of the year.

Broker financial responsibility

This rulemaking is more than a decade in the making.

Prompted by 2012’s Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act, FMCSA published a 2018 advance notice of proposed rulemaking that aimed to revoke the license of a broker whose bond falls below $75,000.

In the 2018 notice, FMCSA said it was considering an approach where it would “immediately suspend” the authority of a broker or freight forwarder when it receives notice from the surety or trust fund provider that a payout has occurred to where the financial security is less than $75,000. The approach also would suspend authority when a surety or trust fund provider gives reasonable notice of a claim to the broker and the broker does not respond.

The U.S. DOT report estimates that FMCSA will issue a notice of proposed rulemaking by Jan. 25. The rulemaking will propose changes to the broker and freight forwarder financial responsibility requirements.

In 2018, OOIDA showed support for the efforts toward a rulemaking and offered suggestions on how to improve it.

“OOIDA is grateful that FMCSA has taken the initiative to bring long-needed improvements to the broker financial security rules,” OOIDA President Todd Spencer wrote in November 2018. “If the final rules produce clear and effective steps for the resolution of motor carrier claims against a bond or trust, then disputes between motor carriers and sureties will be reduced. There will be less need for litigation, and the economic health of the broker/motor carrier component of the transportation industry will be stronger.

“Most importantly, the small-business men and women motor carriers who rely upon brokers will be relieved from so many significant financial claims by both brokers and their bonds or trusts.”

The Association suggested that a broker must have a surety bond or trust fund in effect continuously for a minimum of $75,000.

Safety fitness procedures

FMCSA says it wants to get unfit motor carriers off the roads.

In January, the agency is expected to publish an advance notice of proposed rulemaking aimed at learning more effective ways to do so.

The notice on safety fitness procedures is projected to be released on Jan. 30, according to the U.S. DOT report.

“FMCSA is seeking information on how the agency might use data and resources more effectively to identify unfit motor carriers and to remove them from the nation’s roadways,” the report stated. “FMCSA would seek public comment about the use of available safety data, including inspection data, in determining carrier fitness to operate.”

The agency also is expected to seek public input on potential changes to the current three-tier safety fitness rating structure of satisfactory, conditional and unsatisfactory. The action also is expected to include a review of the list of Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations that FMCSA uses in its safety fitness rating methodology.

Although the unfit motor carriers notice is expected in the coming months, it would still be a long time before FMCSA could issue a final rule. Following an advance notice of proposed rulemaking, the regulatory process requires a notice of proposed rulemaking and a final rule. Each stage of the process includes a public comment period.

Automatic emergency braking systems

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will be working with FMCSA to address automatic emergency braking systems.

According to the U.S. DOT report, the two agencies plan to publish a joint notice of proposed rulemaking on Jan. 30.

The agencies will seek 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.

FMCSA and NHTSA are issuing the rulemaking as required by the 2021 infrastructure law.

Pertaining to automatic emergency braking systems, the law:

• Requires an update to the minimum periodic inspection standards under 49 CFR 396, subchapter B, appendix G, and other regulations in 49 CFR part 396 following NHTSA’s requirements under this section.
• Requires the secretary, not later than two years after enactment, to prescribe a motor vehicle safety standard and accompanying performance requirements for automatic emergency braking systems for heavy-duty commercial motor vehicles, and to require that systems installed in such vehicles be in use during operation.
• Directs the secretary to study equipping other commercial motor vehicles with an automated emergency braking system and, if warranted, develop performance standards for such systems.
• Requires the secretary to conduct a review of automatic emergency braking systems used in commercial vehicles and address any identified deficiencies in the rulemaking.

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association continues to oppose any attempts to require automatic emergency braking systems on heavy-duty trucks.

OOIDA says the technology should be perfected before any sort of mandate is put in place.

“They need to do the work to ensure that the technology is reliable and that it works effectively before they put the cart before the horse,” Collin Long, OOIDA’s director of government affairs, told Land Line Now last year.

Automated driving systems on CMVs

FMCSA 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 projected for Jan. 18.

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.”

“While we are still years away from fully automated trucks, decisions made today will have a significant impact on how (autonomous vehicle) technologies are deployed, and ultimately, on the livelihood of professional truck drivers and the economy at large,” OOIDA wrote in its comments signed by President and CEO Todd Spencer. “Elected officials, federal regulators and our industry partners must ensure AV policies are developed in a responsible manner that takes into account the perspective of American truckers.”

OOIDA also emphasized the potential risks to safety that autonomous vehicles could bring.

“Despite various claims that AVs will lead to zero deaths, there have been real-world situations in which automation has devastatingly failed,” OOIDA wrote. LL