Recently, three top FMCSA officials–Administrator Ray Martinez, Chief Counsel Jim Mullen and Chief Safety Officer Jack Van Steenburg–attended the American Trucking Associations’ annual management conference and each spoke at separate meetings during the event. Their respective remarks touched on a range of current issues, and below are top takeaways, summarized and paraphrased by ST
- Serious Concern Over Regulatory Patchwork of State Meal & Rest Break Laws – Deep concern was expressed about a potential patchwork of State laws requiring meal breaks and rest breaks by drivers that might conflict with the required rest break in the federal hours of service rules;
- Accelerated Hours of Service Rulemaking Process – FMCSA’s Hours of Service rulemaking is on an ‘accelerated timeline,’ with a likely completion date of the end of 2019);
- No Extension of Full ELD Compliance Date – There will be no extension of the December 2019 full ELD compliance date for currently grandfathered AOBRD carriers to migrate to ELDs;
- CSA & Crash Accountability Programs Speak to FMCSA’s Credibility – It’s very important for FMCSA to ‘get these programs right’…they are a ‘credibility issue for FMCSA’;
- Under 21 Drivers, An Area Worth Exploring – An idea worth exploring, with ‘appropriate boundaries’ and ‘hopefully to improve safety.’