As most readers of this column know, I have spent a considerable amount of time coaching youth baseball. Well, now my son has grown older and has transitioned out of playing competitively as we once experienced it; however, out of that transition came the ability to develop a new hobby—umpiring. I enjoy it and doing it with my son to form an umpiring tandem is a lot of fun, but I have noticed that all good umpires must possess the talent to command a game and to manage the many types of coaches they encounter. It is with this knowledge that I compare the authority of an umpire in baseball to the presence of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) over the past six months since the inauguration.
Certainly, FMCSA’s COVID-19 response has been spot on, dealing with the problems and delays that arose out of a global pandemic and an industry’s ability to effectively deliver freight. In recent years, however, we have come to know FMCSA as being out in front on topics and leading the charge that helps create rules that save lives and improve efficiencies. As an industry, we are beginning to wonder what has been going on since the Biden administration took over.
In February, faced with litigation regarding the newest version of our hours of service (HOS) regulation, the agency effectively filed a motion to pause the appeal in abeyance for 60 days so that the new leadership could familiarize itself with the case. The rules, which have granted the industry more flexibility when it comes to HOS, had been challenged on the basis of further exacerbating the issue of fatigued driving. Now, I look at my calendar, and it has certainly been more than 60 days to review a case pertaining to rules that were developed by the very staff that still resides at FMCSA.
The new rules, as communicated, were developed based on sound data derived from ELDs that were aggregated and anonymized. The updated regulation was justified as a need for greater flexibility for an industry that requires it. I think it is fair to point out that everyone involved—industry, safety advocates, and the agency itself—was supportive of an ELD mandate that used these devices as a tool to accurately record a driver’s HOS compliance. It concerns me now that those who actually supported the rule aren’t paying attention to the data that the devices have generated. In other words, I question why many would support an initiative and then disregard the results of the very device that was embraced as a cure-all.
Regardless, ELD-generated data, as it pertains to the truckload segment of the industry, places daily driver utilization rates at about 6.6 hours of drive time per day. This number is a result of the recent changes to the HOS provisions. That being said, prior to the newly implemented rules, our segment of the industry was hovering around 6.5 hours of daily driver utilization. Keep in mind that these numbers are based on an allowable 11 hours of drive time per day. As they say, data is the new oil, and the data derived from these devices certainly shows that even the new regulations do not allow the average driver to venture even remotely closely to the allowable daily limits. Effectively, the increased flexibility that the new HOS provided was minimal at best.
What exactly is FMCSA waiting on? In baseball, the umpire establishes the rules and regs; in trucking, FMCSA serves that similar role but has been rather quiet since the inauguration. We need to be careful what we wish for, but the reality is that regardless of what administration is in the White House, the data is still the data and the FMCSA staff involved in interpreting the data for the purposes of a revised rule are still in place. The agency has never been tasked with pulling rules out of thin air. In fact, the rulemaking process prevents that from happening.
Reducing crashes, injuries, and fatalities involving large trucks and buses remains the mission of FMCSA—and not an easy one at that. The reality is that the agency needs to continue on the path that it has already established, including making data-driven decisions in an effort to support its mission.
Much like an umpire in baseball, the industry needs FMCSA to be present in a manner that would command the industry with sound data rather than quietly examining rules that are already well-established.
About the Author
David Heller
David Heller is the senior vice president of safety and government affairs for the Truckload Carriers Association. Heller has worked for TCA since 2005, initially as director of safety, and most recently as the VP of government affairs. Before that, he spent seven years as manager of safety programs for American Trucking Associations.