Regulatory freezes are inevitable each time our nation transitions from one administration to the next—and are not limited to one political party.
Stopping a process that usually travels at a snail’s pace in the first place comes as the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration awaits its first Senate-confirmed leader since 2018. The FMCSA administrator post has seen enough turnover to make most wonder what is going on with a job that could have its eighth person in the role since 2018. Seven of those have been acting administrations. The latest nominee is Derek Barrs, who President Donald Trump nominated in March.
It is not as easy to serve as an FMCSA administrator. The regulatory docket seems perpetually full for this agency, whose primary mission is to reduce crashes, injuries, and fatalities involving large trucks and buses on our nation’s roads. It is not as if they have carte blanche on the rules, either. Pacifying the interests of those who have commented on some issues over 15,000 times can be daunting, but someone will undoubtedly rise to the challenge.
The issues are not easy either. I've written many times in support of the Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse, for example. Could this administration and its eventual administrator be the ones to complete the clearinghouse and its corresponding data to include the results of hair follicle testing? On behalf of the truckload community, I certainly hope so. Although the clearinghouse has proven an effective tool, the multiple agencies tasked with running it have been detrimental to improving a tool that would benefit our industry and its safety record significantly.
See also: Trump admin nominates new FMCSA administrator
Like any other industry, technology continues to be introduced at a breathtaking pace. Since introducing electronic logging devices to our industry through a final rule in 2015, technology has permeated trucking in the blink of an eye. Advanced driver assistance systems or even fully autonomous vehicle testing have become prevalent in today’s trucking world. As part of that introduction, automatic emergency braking technology continues to play the waiting game in the rulemaking process undergoing the regulatory freeze.
Most in the industry already spec these technologies when purchasing a new truck. Still, as one of the smartemost innovativey people I know says: “Innovators will beat regulators every time” when it comes to technology.
No one said the FMCSA job would be easy; it is challenging, to say the least. The next leader must address a speed-limiter rulemaking that can only be described as highly contentious.
While the Truckload Carriers Association is supportive of the rulemaking in general, not knowing at what speed the agency is seeking to limit trucks makes it difficult, at best, to truly support a regulation that has had tremendous success in Canada. North of the border, it has reduced speed-related accidents. But here in the U.S., it remains in regulatory purgatory as the publication of the next regulatory step continually gets kicked down the road.
My experience has taught me that continuously pushing for rulemaking often results in no rulemaking at all.
From this 10,000-ft. view of the trucking regulatory landscape, the eventual FMCSA leader has a lot to face on their eventual Day One—once they make it through the Senate hearing and confirmation process.
Whoever it is, our industry is ready and willing to help them ultimately fulfill the agency's primary mission and make our roads safer for all to travel.
