FMCSA to host final listening session on proposed rulemaking for safety fitness determination

This week, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will host a virtual listening session regarding safety fitness determination for motor carriers.

The virtual session will be held from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday, July 31. The event will be the third and final public listening session the agency has held on the topic, as well as the second one held virtually.

Like the sessions prior, the upcoming virtual event will be focus on “the development of a new methodology to determine when a motor carrier is not fit to operate commercial motor vehicles in or affecting interstate commerce.”

“Specifically, the agency would like to hear from members of the public on issues of concern relating to safety fitness determination, including, for example, the three-tiered rating system (Satisfactory, Unsatisfactory, Conditional) versus changing to a proposed single rating only when a carrier is found to be unfit,” FMCSA said.

Last August, FMCSA published an advance notice of proposed rulemaking that asked for feedback on whether the process to determine a motor carrier’s safety fitness needs to be revised.

In addition to the public comment period, which closed in November 2023, the agency announced the three listening sessions as a way to gather feedback from industry stakeholders “before proceeding with next steps in the rulemaking process.”

Preregistration is required to attend the virtual listening session and can be completed online here. If you are unable to attend the session, the agency is also accepting written comments through Aug. 7 via email at SafetyFitnessDetermination@dot.gov.

OOIDA comments on safety fitness determinations

This past November, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association filed formal comments with the agency calling the current system ineffective.

“The FMCSA safety fitness determination process has a direct effect on motor carriers’ ability to stay in business,” OOIDA wrote in its comments. “Historically, the safety fitness determination structure has not been proven as a reliable methodology to properly determine a motor carrier’s fitness to operate. Most of the (program’s) shortcomings relate to the inaccuracy and inconsistency of the data that is collected and analyzed during a safety investigation.”

In January, FMCSA reopened the comment period to give the public an opportunity to comment on reports that could inform the rulemaking, such as data involving in-vehicle monitoring systems. The Association told the agency that technology shouldn’t be allowed to bolster a motor carrier’s rating.

“The mere adoption and use of safety technologies does not ensure better safety performance,” OOIDA said. “We believe rewarding carriers that simply adopt safety technologies without improving actual safety performance would only benefit motor carriers who can afford costly new technologies.”

Charles Sperry, a research analyst with the OOIDA Foundation, attended the in-person listening session held in June at the Texas Trucking Show in Houston and presented on behalf of the Association. He encourages all truckers to attend the next event to offer feedback.

“We can and will always be the voice crying out in the wilderness for the small trucker, and leading the way,” Sperry told Land Line. “But it always helps when we have an army of other voices there, backing us up. So, even if you’re just there to chime in and say, ‘Yeah, I agree with that guy,’ please do!” LL