The聽Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announces in the federal register that it is withdrawing its聽controversial safety fitness determination (SFD) rulemaking issued in January 2016 and will also cancel plans to issue a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking (SNPRM)聽announced back in January聽to help support the SFD effort.
鈥淭he new methodology would have determined when a motor carrier is not fit to operate commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) in or affecting interstate commerce based on: the carrier鈥檚 on-road safety data; an investigation; or a combination of on-road safety data and investigation information,鈥� the agency聽noted in its filing, which is on 鈥減ublic display鈥� until being officially entered in the record tomorrow.
Yet FMCSA said 鈥渁fter reviewing the record in this matter鈥� it decided to withdraw both the NPRM and SNPRM regarding the SFD rule, adding that 鈥渁dditional analysis鈥� will need to be completed before determining whether further rulemaking efforts are necessary to revise the SFD process in the future.
Back in February, over 30 national transportation groups and 30-plus state and regional associations聽sent a joint letter to Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao calling for the FMCSA鈥檚 SFD rulemaking to be dumped as it was based on what they characterized as 鈥渇lawed鈥� data taken from the agency鈥檚 Compliance Safety and Accountability (CSA) program and Safety Measurement System (SMS).
鈥淲e do not believe it makes sense to build a new safety fitness determination system upon a flawed system [that] is currently undergoing congressionally-mandated review and reform and is likely to change,鈥� the groups said in their letter.
鈥淲hile we support the goal of an easily understandable [and] rational safety fitness determination system, this proposal is built on a flawed foundation,鈥� they stated.
The聽American Trucking Associations (ATA) found the use of a singular 鈥渦nfit鈥� rating within the proposed revamp of SFD methodology particularly troubling. 鈥淭his flaw in the system is troubling. The term 鈥榰nfit鈥� is applied to fleets that, comparatively speaking, are considered the least safe in the industry,鈥� ATA wrote. 鈥淵et FMCSA lacks sufficient data on 4/5ths of the industry to make such a determination.鈥�
Similarly, the聽Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) emphasized the importance of safety determinations, and that 鈥渋t is imperative that the judgment of rendering a carrier as 鈥榰nfit鈥� be based upon the most accurate information available to the agency.鈥�
To read the full story, visit .