Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/678459
LEADING NEWS, TRUCKING MARKET CONDITIONS AND INDUSTRY ANALYSIS FMCSA seeks fleet feedback for incentive program T he Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is asking for comments from industry stake- holders on the implementation of a "Beyond Compliance" program that would reward carriers for early safety technology adoption or other voluntary compliance initiatives beyond the scope of current safety regulations. FMCSA is required by the December-passed FAST Act to implement the program within 18 months of the bill being enacted. Through the proposed program, FMCSA must give credit either through (1) a new category in the Compliance Safety Accountability program's Safety Measurement System or (2) an improved SMS percentile for a carrier that: installs advanced safety equipment; uses enhanced driver fitness measures; adopts fleet safety management tools, technologies and programs; or satisfies other standards deemed appropriate by the agency. The FAST Act also requires a public comment period on a process for identifying and review- ing advanced safety equipment; enhanced driver fitness measures; fleet safety management tools, technologies and programs; and other standards used by motor carriers to receive recognition. To comment, go to Regulations. gov and search Docket No. FMCSA-2015-0124. – Matt Cole Carrier groups dispute FMCSA defense of Safety Fitness Determination rule A n ad-hoc coalition of trucking organizations issued a letter to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's Acting Administrator Scott Darling disputing comments made by an agency representative regarding the January- proposed Safety Fitness Determination rule. The key point of contention between FMCSA and the carrier groups is whether the proposed rule's issuance violates the December-enacted FAST Act highway bill. Joe DeLorenzo, the agency's head of compliance and enforcement, spoke in a conference call with trucking industry press about the proposal, offering a general overview and what it will mean for the industry. The rule would do away with the three-tier Satisfactory, Conditional and Unsatisfactory carrier rating system and replace it with a two-tier system, Fit and Unfit. It also would change the way FMCSA determines those ratings, concentrating more on roadside inspec- tion and violation data rather than on-site compliance reviews. "With our limited resources, we're only able to get to a very small percentage of the companies that are out there to make these determinations," DeLorenzo said. "Also, because of that, the ratings are often not current." DeLorenzo said FMCSA is operating within the limits of the FAST Act provisions. The carrier groups, however, argue otherwise, saying in their April 11-issued letter to Darling that the agency's proposed SFD rule relies heavily on data specifically restricted from use by the FAST Act. "FMCSA continues to argue that the [Notice of Proposed Rulemaking] fully complies with the FAST Act because the SFDs are not based on relative percentiles but rather 'absolute' failure standards calculated using relative percentiles," the groups write. "Putting aside the obvious sophistry of this claim, Section 5223(b) – the very provision FMCSA clings to as supposedly supporting its decision to move forward with the NPRM – does not provide the cover that the agency claims." DeLorenzo, however, said the FAST Act's limitations only relate to the use of Compliance Safety Accountability's percentile rankings and alerts, which the rule does not mention except to "give context." If the National Academies of Science – the group tasked with studying the CSA program and issuing recommendations to the agency about fixing the system – comes back with recommendations regarding the SFD rule, FMCSA will incorporate them when it devel- ops the rule's final version, DeLorenzo said. The comment period for the rule is open until May 23. – James Jaillet Scan the QR code with your smartphone or visit ccjdigital.com/news/subscribe-to-news- letters to sign up for the CCJ Daily Report, a daily e-mail newsletter filled with news, analysis, blogs and market condition articles. The Safety Fitness Determination rule would change the way FMCSA assesses carriers by leaning more heavily on roadside inspection data. commercial carrier journal | may 2016 9