The head of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) Tuesday (Oct. 20) said he wants 2016 to be a âyear of partnershipsâ between his agency and the carriers and drivers it regulates.
Speaking at the American Trucking Associationsâ annual Management Conference and Exhibition in Philadelphia, Scott Darling, acting and presidentially nominated administrator of the FMCSA, cited the agencyâs five-month hours-of-service restart study mandated by Congress as an example of such a partnership. The results of the study, he said, should be released in the coming months.
Darling also cited several other examples of regulator-industry partnerships:
- A negotiated rulemaking for entry level driver training that is on schedule to be published by the end of the year.
- A notice that will be published in the Federal Register this week to allow new compliance effective dates for the unified registration system.
- A final rule to be published on electronic logging devices. The rule is designed to improve compliance which will save an estimated 20 lives and prevent 400 injuries due to crashes each year.
- A safety and fitness notice of proposed rulemaking that will incorporate ongoing safety performance data and grading carriers based on their own performance. The agency will be seeking public input on this rule, he said.
Read more coverage of Darlingâs address at âCommercial Carrier Journal.â