The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) emphasized that any modifications to the safety fitness determination process must not unfairly penalize motor carriers without a rating. This was conveyed in formal comments submitted to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) on Nov. 29.
The FMCSA had initiated an advance notice of proposed rulemaking on Aug. 29, seeking input on potential revisions to the process of determining a motor carrier’s safety fitness. The comment period remained open until Nov. 29.
OOIDA argued that the existing safety fitness determination process has proven to be ineffective.
“The FMCSA safety fitness determination process has a direct effect on motor carriers’ ability to stay in business,” OOIDA wrote. “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.”
Currently, a safety fitness determination is only assigned after a compliance review is conducted, a system that OOIDA highlighted as reaching only a limited percentage of motor carriers. The association stressed that the success of any program relies on the availability of accurate information, asserting that the current system falls short in this regard.
“In fiscal year 2019, FMCSA and its state partners conducted 11,671 compliance reviews out of a population of more than 567,000 active interstate motor carriers,” OOIDA wrote. “These factors contribute to an unreliable system that does not produce uniform or objective safety fitness determinations … Any reforms must not penalize the overwhelming majority of carriers that will never receive a rating.”
Notably, OOIDA brought attention to the fact that FMCSA’s CSA Safety Measurement System does not contribute to generating safety fitness determinations.
“As FMCSA pursues the development of a new methodology to determine when a motor carrier is unfit to operate, the agency must avoid relying on the Compliance, Safety, Accountability and Safety Measurement System programs,” OOIDA wrote. “Since their inception in 2010, CSA and SMS have completely failed in their objective to reduce injuries, fatalities and crashes. This will not change until CSA/SMS incentivizes actual safety performance instead of regulatory compliance.”
In 2016, FMCSA had proposed using a carrier’s absolute measure in SMS to determine safety fitness. However, facing opposition from OOIDA and others, the proposal was eventually withdrawn.
As of the latest update, the regulations.gov website indicated that FMCSA received 176 comments on the notice; click here to view them. The agency is now tasked with reviewing these comments to determine whether to proceed with a formal proposal.
Source: Land Line
