FMCSA Administrator to resign Jan. 26th
FMCSA Administrator Robin Hutcheson will be resigning from her post effective January 26, 2024. The reasons for her departure are not clear. Sue Lawless, FMCSA's recently appointed Chief Safety Officer and Assistant Administrator, is likely to serve as the agency's Acting Administrator.In a statement, Hutcheson said, “It has been the most profound honor to serve in the Biden-Harris Administration, and I am grateful to President Biden for appointing me to these roles. I thank Secretary Buttigieg
Brandon Wiseman
2023 regulatory year-in-review & 2024 outlook
2023 was a big year for trucking and a fairly busy one for regulators. We saw a lot of new proposed rule changes from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Adminstration (FMCSA), particularly around their various enforcement mechanisms like safety ratings and CSA scores. With 2023 coming to a close, we're taking a look back at the most significant DOT-related regulatory initiaves from the past year and looking forward to what's in store for next year. 2023 Year In ReviewAs noted, the FMCSA was fairly
Brandon Wiseman
FMCSA amends broker & freight forwarder financial responsibility rules
In a notice to be published in the Federal Register soon, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced revisions to its regulations pertaining to property broker and freight forwarder financial responsibility.This final rule, which is set to take effect 60 days from the date the rule is published in the Federal Register, modifies the following five regulatory areas relating to broker and freight forwarder financial responsibility:Assets Readily Available. In its 2012 MAP-21
Brandon Wiseman
FMCSA soliciting waiver requests to reinstate meal & rest break laws
In what seems like an unprecedented move, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is soliciting regulatory waiver requests from the public, which, if granted, could reinstate California's and Washington's meal and rest break rules as applied to regulated commercial drivers. In a notice published to the Federal Register on August 14, 2023, the FMCSA explained, "the Agency will consider petitions for waiver of its December 21, 2018, and January 13, 2020, decisions preempting the St
Brandon Wiseman
FMCSA & NHTSA propose heavy vehicle automatic emergency brake rule
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) published a joint Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on June 22, 2023, which would mandate that all newly-manufactured heavy trucks and buses be equipped with Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) systems. “Advanced driver assistance systems like AEB have the power to save lives,” said NHTSA Chief Counsel Ann Carlson. “Today’s announcement is an important step forward in improving safety
Brandon Wiseman
FMCSA to implement operating authority exemption for providers of recreational activities
According to a June 2023 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) intends to publish new rules to implement a statutory exemption from the interstate for-hire operating authority requirement for certain providers of "recreational activities." This proposal comes on the heels of the agency's recent efforts to clarify what types of passenger operations implicate other aspects of its regulations. According to the agency, Section 23012 of Congress's Inf
Brandon Wiseman
FMCSA again declines to tackle double brokerage
In a notice to be published in the Federal Register in the next couple of days, the FMCSA issued its "final guidance" on its regulatory definitions of the terms "broker" and "bona fide agent." This final guidance comes on the heels of the agency's "interim guidance" on this same topic, which it published in November of 2022 and which we discussed in detail in this article. The FMCSA's brokerage guidance is a response to Congress' mandate in its Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). Spec
Brandon Wiseman
FMCSA to broaden Crash Preventability Determination Program
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has plans to expand the federal program through which regulated motor carriers challenge the preventability of accidents in which their drivers are involved. According to its notice published on April 12, 2023, the FMCSA proposes to broaden its Crash Preventability Determination Program (CPDP), such that more types of accidents will be eligible for a preventability ruling. The agency first stood up the CPDP in May 2020, following industry c
Brandon Wiseman
FMCSA overhauls Clearinghouse notifications
The federal Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse--a central repository for drug/alcohol testing data for CDL drivers--has now been in place for more than three years. As we addressed in another article, the Clearinghouse's three-year anniversary in January 2023 brought with it changes to the process that motor carriers must follow when first onboarding CDL drivers. But even more recently, in mid-March, the FMCSA overhauled the way that its Clearinghouse notifies employers (i.e., motor carriers) of any c
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