Sue Lawless, the acting deputy administrator for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), addressed a variety of critical topics in her keynote speech at The Truckload Carrier’s Association’s (TCA) annual conference, Truckload 2024, held recently in Nashville.
Among the key issues discussed were truck parking and workplace safety, both of which are paramount concerns within the industry. Lawless commended the dedication of the industry and its stakeholders, many of whom were present at the event.
“You are among the best of the best of safe trucking,” she said. “Every day you show us what motor carriers can do to keep the country moving, and you do it safely.”
Highlighting the importance of workplace safety, Lawless emphasized that ensuring the safety of truckers directly contributes to the safety of the nation’s roadways. She underscored the FMCSA’s commitment, alongside its partners, to strive for zero fatalities through initiatives such as the National Roadway Safety Strategy.
“Zero is an ambitious goal, but we believe it is the only acceptable number,” Lawless said. “Somebody told me last week while I was out talking that we will never get to zero — that it’s impossible to get to zero, but I disagree.”
While acknowledging the challenges ahead, Lawless remained optimistic, stating that unseen progress today can pave the way for significant improvements in the future. She outlined key factors essential for achieving safer highways, including technological advancements, equipment enhancements, efficient emergency response systems, and access to medical care.
“All of those things have the potential to make zero deaths a reality in our lifetimes, and that’s why partnerships with organizations like TCA, academia safety advocates, state and local governments and others are so critical in our mission,” she said.
Despite progress, Lawless stressed that the number of traffic fatalities remains unacceptably high, with nearly 41,000 fatalities reported last year. While this marks a decrease from previous years, it underscores the ongoing need for continued efforts to enhance roadway safety.
“We know that we must do more, and we know that we can’t do it alone,” Lawless said. “It’s great to see that over 160 organizations answer the department’s call to action campaign, and we thank TCA for being one of the first mover partners to answer our call.”
Shifting focus to truck parking, Lawless noted advancements made since the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law allocated federal grant funding to expand truck parking facilities.
“Those projects included $180 million to the Florida Department of Transportation for over 900 truck parking spaces, over $92 million to the Missouri Department of Transportation for a project that includes both truck parking and truck parking information systems, and over $22 million to Tennessee for a bridge replacement and additional truck parking,” Lawless said.
The FMCSA is actively involved in research projects aimed at improving truck parking availability information systems and analyzing safety data from connected trucks to identify areas of high demand and need for parking.
“We know that truck parking remains a safety and overall quality of life issue for drivers, and it remains a priority for us to partner across the industry to help ease and eventually eliminate this challenge,” she said. “We have also launched our driver compensation and driver detention time studies to address other factors that may make it difficult to sustain a career as a truck driver. Because we know that the longer drivers stay in the industry, the safer they become, the drivers being recognized this week are proof of that.”
Additionally, Lawless discussed the agency’s efforts to modernize systems in response to evolving cybersecurity challenges.
“FMCSA (has a) new registration system (that) will improve the transparency, efficiency and user experience with the agency’s registration systems — and reduce fraud in the registration process,” she said. “This is just one of the steps we’re taking to modernize all FMCSA systems.”
On the regulatory front, the FMCSA is prioritizing initiatives such as the heavy-duty automatic emergency braking rule to enhance safety measures.
“Because we believe that technology has the promise of saving lives, we continue to look for ways to encourage the adoption of technology that can prevent crashes or reduce the impact from crashes that happen, including beyond compliance initiatives and other ways to encourage carriers and drivers to use technology that improve safety, but most importantly makes sense for them,” Lawless said.
Lawless concluded by reaffirming the FMCSA’s commitment to ensuring that its grant programs have a lasting and positive impact on the trucking industry, underscoring the agency’s dedication to fostering a safer and more efficient transportation industry.
“Earlier this month, we announced our notes of funding opportunities for 2024,” she said. “We have more than $180 million available, including opportunities for CDL and other driver training and programs specifically for veterans who want to become truck drivers. I hope that this has given you some insight to our work at FMCSA. I’m proud of our work, and I’m encouraged by our partnership.”
Source: The Trucker
