today that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) plans to withdraw its proposal – made three years ago – to increase mandated levels of insurance coverage both freight and passenger motor carriers from $750,000 to $4 million.
[You can read the FMCSA's withdrawal notice by clicking here.]
In reaction to the news, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) pointed out that more than 99% of crash damages are covered under current financial requirements and that the increase – based by FMCSA on medical cost inflation - would place “significant financial burdens on motor carriers without any improvement to highway safety.”
“Such an increase would put small truckers out of business,” noted Mike Matousek, OOIDA’s director of government affairs, in a statement.
He added that the announced withdrawal is “significant” in that FMCSA usually just leaves a docket open if a proposal is no longer being advanced.
The agency also pointed out in its notice that, after reviewing all public comments, it had “insufficient data or information” to support moving forward with a rulemaking proposal to raise insurance minimums – at least at this time, FMCSA stressed.
