Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/555101
18 COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | AUGUST 2015 JOURNAL NEWS • A final rule to mandate electronic logging devices was sent June 6 by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to the Office of Secretary of Transportation. The U.S. Department of Transportation in its latest rulemakings report said the ELD rule is projected to be published Sept. 30, which would mean the rule would start being enforced in late 2017. AssumingOST approves the rule, it will be sent to the White House Office of Management and Budget before being returned to FMCSA for pub- lication in the Federal Register. • The White House Office of Management and Budget last month cleared the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's proposal to require single-unit trucks to be equipped with energy-absorbing rear-impact or INBRIEF 8/15 A Senate committee heard testimony that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's vehicle safety oversight is undermined by inadequate data and analysis. NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation lacks the necessary proce- dures needed to collect complete and accurate vehicle safety data, said Calvin L. Scovel III, the transportation department's Inspector General, who testified before the Senate transportation committee June 23. NHTSA's main source of identifying safety issues is consumer complaint, but these lack the information to correctly identify the systems involved. ODI does not screen consumer complaints well or adequately train or supervise its staff in screening complaints, resulting in significant safety concerns being overlooked, Scovel said. Manufacturers have broad discretion in reporting early warning data, and ODI does not adequately verify the data manufacturers submit, Scovel said. When it analyzes early warning reporting data, ODI does not adhere to standard statistical practices, he said; the result is it cannot differentiate outliers and trends that repre- sent random variation from those that statistically are significant. ODI's process for determining to investigate potential safety defects also under- mines identifying needed recalls and other corrective actions, Scovel said. The office does not always document justifications for decisions not to investigate, nor make timely decisions on opening investigations, he said. – Jill Dunn Congress told DOT's vehicle safety oversight needs work Continued on page 94