Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee to provide recommendations

FMCSA’s Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee will analyze recent crash statistics and provide safety recommendations as part of its first meeting since December 2021.

The committee, which consists of about two dozen industry experts, will meet virtually on Tuesday, June 6, and Wednesday June 7. The meeting is open to the public, and a public comment period is scheduled at 4 p.m. Eastern each day. OOIDA President Todd Spencer serves on the committee.

To register for the Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee meetings via Zoom, click here. The meetings are scheduled to run from 9:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Tuesday’s agenda includes opening remarks from FMCSA Administrator Robin Hutcheson, analysis of commercial motor vehicle safety data and a discussion of objectives for the agency’s Large Truck Crash Causal Factors Study.

Wednesday’s agenda includes a presentation about the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Roadway Safety Strategy and a discussion about using stakeholder collaboration to improve commercial motor vehicle safety.

On both days of the meetings, the committee also will work on providing the FMCSA feedback and recommendations on the agency’s strategic plan goals.

The full agenda can be found here.

Previous MCSAC meeting

The Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee will be meeting for the first time since December 2021.

Spencer relayed ideas from truck drivers on how to improve retention in the industry.

“The pandemic has certainly placed drivers in much greater visibility to the overall public, but drivers have always played a critical role,” Spencer said. “Drivers provide all of our basic needs. (In times of crisis) drivers are always there to save the day. Coming up with accommodations to make it easier for them to do what they do is in all of our best interests.”

Stephen Owings, founder of Road Safe America, said one of the ways to retain drivers and increase safety is by compensating truckers for all of their time.

“Truck drivers are the backbone of our whole economy, and they should be treated that way,” Owings said. “Too often, they are treated the exact opposite. Paying truck drivers by the mile is literally telling them to get there as fast as they can. Drivers should be paid for every hour they work whether the truck is moving or not, and they should get paid overtime.” LL