We have heard it all before, that is, the tagline in many a presentation regarding FMCSA’s regulatory horizon. I have said it, other trucking industry executives have said it, and we even read the phrase in our industry trade publications and blogs from time to time when it is quoted. “We must be the most regulated deregulated industry in the country.”
That being said, we were recently exposed to a new idea for a regulation, and we can credit Sen. Deb Fischer from Nebraska for it—reform for FMCSA seems to be in the air. In a sense, she seems to be playing on the quote we have all heard before and is focusing on industry frustration regarding these regulations, a flawed scoring system in CSA, and just the general viewpoint that no one can ever seem to agree over the sensibility of these over-burdensome regulations that are bestowed upon our nation’s truck drivers.
Under Sen. Fischer’s bill, titled the Truck Safety Reform Act, FMCSA would be required to review rules, regulations, guidance and enforcement policies, as well as report on the results of such reviews, every five years. Sounds great doesn’t it? Regulating the regulators, but maybe, just maybe, we should be making regulations that just plain make sense to begin with. Should we have to review these rules every five years, or should it be done when reality sets in and a rule just doesn’t make sense anymore (if it ever did to begin with)? Then again, the speed with which one of these rules is promulgated would never be considered a quickened pace by any stretch of the imagination. We as an industry continue to wait on rules that would indeed be useful—ELDs come to mind, not to mention speed limiters. Yet we continue to waste our breath stating the obvious that CSA doesn’t work as it was intended because it is continually fed incorrect data. I don’t think we needed five years to realize that.
Don’t get me wrong. I would be remiss if I didn’t say that the folks making these regulations and enforcing these mandates have the unenviable task of being in the spotlight and having to be open to criticism in the first place. They truly are an excellent group of people who have dedicated themselves to the principle of reducing truck crashes on our highways. Unfortunately, they are not able to please all of the people all of the time. Because of this very environment that we have created, there is a need for a bill such as the one proposed by Sen. Fischer.
The trucking industry serves every corner and every facet of life that this country has to offer. Yes, there does need to be rules and regulations in place so that we can handle the massive undertaking that is delivering this nation’s freight in a safe and orderly fashion. Perhaps now, on the heels of this bill, FMCSA can begin the slow process of reviewing regulations that have such an impact on our industry and make the appropriate changes.
While we almost always speak about the massive amount of regulations placed on this industry, there is relatively little to no fanfare over a regulation that makes sense and has been implemented correctly from the start. Perhaps that is the reform we should hope for with Sen. Fischer’s bill.
David Heller, CDS, is director of safety and policy for the Truckload Carriers Assn. He is responsible for interpreting and communicating industry-related regulations and legislation to the membership of TCA. Send comments to [email protected].
