Anne Ferro, the head of the FMCSA for the last 5 years, plans to resign in August. The announcement came last Friday in an email she sent out to FMCSA staff. Though her departure comes shortly after a call for her to step down and an open letter to DOT Secretary Anthony Foxx demanding her resignation, there is no indication that Ferro is leaving for any other reason than to pursue her new job as president and CEO of the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators.
Ferro lasted a long time in a position that historically sees fairly high turnover. She took the position as head of the FMCSA in October of 2009 and won’t leave until sometime in August, making her the longest serving FMCSA Administrator ever.
Her announcement met with mixed responses across the industry as was to be expected. Secretary Foxx was among those who praised her service saying that “Anne has been a true leader in safety throughout her time at DOT,” but not all were so kind. In our own forums, many truckers breathed a collective sigh of relief at the news of her departure, but others braced themselves for what’s to come. Said member SMTatham, “now all we gotta do is worry about getting someone worse…”
Even though OOIDA penned the letter to Secretary Foxx calling for Ferro’s resignation, Jim Johnston, president of OOIDA, still congratulated her on her new position, adding that “She is well known for having unprecedented personal outreach and engagement with truckers in all the years that we have worked with the agency.”
“It has been my greatest privilege to serve side-by-side with you to advance FMCSA’s life saving mission,” Ferro wrote in her letter to the FMCSA staff.
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Source: fleetowner, truckinginfo, thehill, overdrive, thetrucker, truckinginfo
WOOHOO!
Don’t let the door hit you on your way out
This woman has caused more pain and financial loss to hundread of thousand of drivers , you can’t safe proof the world. Good luck on your new job and don’t look back.
Has Obama appointed any person that was truly qualified to hold a agency position since he has been President? This is what you get when yo put friends in high positions of power and not well qualified people. At this point in America we need quality not people with agenda’s or people who hold grudges or just don’t care and simply want a pay check. All government really does is lead and manage. They don’t make a product or work for some noble ideology. No, government is supposed to work for the people who pay their salaries. The VA scandal the IRS scandal, and everything else all falls back on bad management.
I agree with you John. But, have you noticed that the government can not even balance a simple checkbook. But, don’t you bounce a check! They will lock you up. Every time the government get’s involved in telling other’s how to run things they screw it up. A few examples are deregulating the trucking industry, deregulating the airline industry to name a few. The first three words of the U.S. Constitution read “We the people” and not We the government. Seems they forgot that part.
Walt and John…good points.
Yet we all must understand that the Constitutional Republic stands for a small central government, whereby the states run the federal government, not the other way around.
That was supposed to be the reason we send congressmen to congress.
How long has it been since we’ve seen a strong, united Congress that works for the People?
Our country was bankrupt in 1788 and the international banking entities took it over.
So, if we have a puppet presidency run by a lop-side Congress, giving jobs to unqualified people, with the judiciary legislating from the bench, because Congress will not abide by ‘The Sovereign U.S. Constitution, whose last state to ratify was Rhode Island, under pressure of political blackmail, constituting the cut off of commerce….that signing in 1790, we The People end up with a rudder-less ship.
Anne Ferro was just another political appointee…even if she did come form the Maryland Motor Carriers Association…as reported.
She was not even, ever a truck driver, and OOIDA pulled the 2 day ride along stunt to gain points with her. That not working, OOIDA calls for her ouster.
How do you hire so many people in this industry to run it, whom have never driven a commercial vehicle , not driven a truck or done any real work to constitute working experience?
It relates to the bottom line for big money. Corruption and cronyism.
Ever hear of a poor Congressman?, before or after their time in Congress is up?
Bye, Anne Ferro, don’t let the door hit you!
FINALLY!!! Get that crazy B$&@H out! She is a nut job that has cost american truckers nothing but headaches and financial loss! Lets hope whoever is next is actually QUALIFIED for the job!!!
“Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.”
—-Pete Townshend
Stop pipe dreaming drivers. The next person will push the same agenda. The only day someone qualified will walk in that office is when they hire and x driver who actually comprehends trucking and also has some super college degree in some speciality area they desire.
In other words, no one will ever be as qualified as we want them to be.
But this is a step in the right direction. Now let’s see if we can keep that positions turn over as high as driver turn over is in the industry. Mane then they will get the point.
Unfortunately buddy, if that happens they’ll call for her again as inturm unless something drastic happens we’re screwed
Good Bye, Good Riddens, now all we have to do is get rid of that elog carp and get those regulations appealed and turned back to the way it used to be, get some these “FNG’S” off the road so we can actually get some work done instead of paying for Anne’s and their mistakes. Truely sad when we can’t afford anymore regulations as a country giving the economy, yet that’s all they want to do. On top of that, if it turns into law, they get paid for it. Solialism at it’s finest
what she has done screwed up the trucking industry she don’t realize well I take that back she don’t care if it wasn’t for the trucking industry this country would go to hell and when the American people realizes that they would stand behind the truck drivers instead of against the truck driver we bring your foodwe bring your gas we bring your clothes we bring the car you drove we bring everything you own truck drivers is what keeps this country going so think about it people thank the trucking industry for your success god bless the trucker.
Its about darn time. She was clueless.
Hey I will take the job and put money back into all of our pockets and make the drivers that work so hard and sacrifice so much hero’s once again!!!!!
Do you think things will change for the better now? It’s rare that a situation actually improves once the government exercises their governing authority. I wonder howmuch revenue was created throughout Ferro’s tenure.
We may just jump from the frying pan into the fire but I hope not. We need to write to the President and ask him to please put someone in that office that’s actually been a trucker for a period of time.
What truck driver would want this job?
We need someone who currently IS a truck driver to fill that position. A truck driver who knows the problems in our industry and has plans and common sense to solve them
I can promise you the replacement will have even less an idea about what commercial drivers do or what the DoT regulations mean to drivers. I predict a “Green Energy” Agenda unlike anything prior. I predict stricter environmental regulations and I predict a push for stricter logging requirements, increased taxes and tolls for road use.
you will probably be correct.
An transportation attorney with driving experience, not bought and paid for by MADD,PATT, OOIDA,ATA,TCA,NHTSA, NTSA and all the other elements with their equipment, hardware and software, to make money on our imprisonment as drivers, told what to do by computers and their industry and government cronies, might get the job done.
but that takes the return to old values of the driver being more important than the machine.
Technology is the machine. It will eclipse everything. Is is in continuous motion.
How will FMCSA change that… that agency will not.
EPA and CARB defined the future of trucking and all the global clones have signed on.
The robot truck is the future.
Would post a link…but the monitors will censor it.
Robots can’t do our jobs…..not in this age of computer hackers and wifi. Truck Driving is not always point A to Point B. Let those robotic trucks drive in extreme weather with heavy payloads and stupid and adventurous 4 wheelers.
What about someone hacking and stealing the truck and it’s cargo???
Truck Driving is best reserved for human beings…..not robots.
How someone hacking those robotic trucks and still it and the cargo??? Truck Driving is EST reserved for humans…
I meant to say steal instead of still
the robot can size up the dock slot, and safely back it in, gps and all. The robots have been running loads in mining/China. Driver/tech just monitors the operation. Google cars.
ZF and Daimler already have the trucks…another North American company just rolled out their proto, whereby the driver can turn the seat 45 degrees to the wheel, and do whatever…as the robot does whatever.
The industry will deal with the hacks and thefts… digital encryption and advanced gps tracking will make it more difficult to hack and steal….but not impossible… locks are for the merely curious.
Yet agree, trucks are for drivers….will the robot unload and load?…the capabilities are there or soon to be.
How much do the one percenters stand to gain by roving as many drivers as possible?
A lot. as no workmen’s comp, unemployment, disability or logbooks and less maintenance, and regs.
The extreme weather is no problem for robots, as the truck of the near future will be equipped with vorad, lidar , infrared, digital cameras the dispatch can monitor(in all positions, and can deal with the heavy traffic as such.
See trucking magazines and ezines…continuously showing the progression in this robot arena.
The one per centers are drooling.
You all forget there is no ‘popular vote’. What we want and need is irrelevant! Her resigning is only a political move. Don’t forget that they only do for themselves that benifits themselves. There’s hidden adgendas that have been in political play for quite sometime. They may seem to throw u a bone everyonce in a while to appease some but it’s all strategy. You must still remember that the most powerful have control. Think who’s got most money n power. For example, oil and pharmaceutical company’s. that money controls everyone as we are a bunch of greedy soles who need more n more to survive. They line the pockets of politicians who are their puppets to manipulate and control the flows of revenue to satisfy their goals. I’m sure you’ve heard of ‘collateral damage’ right!? Well what happens to the poor ol driver n the small companies is the cost of doing business. From the blood and sweat of slaves Rome wasn’t built in a day! Any upheaval from the minorities (drivers etc) only results in more punishment for all. Eventually they can coerce everyone into submission, don’t believe that!? Just look around!
I have personally realized long ago, that the well being of my family n loved ones outweighs the costs of what we are enduring so I will do as I must to provide for them untill I am no longer able. We can only hold onto Hope that things change for the better and the next appointed one will have an ounce or two of compassion for the future of the drivers in the trucking industry.
Well said!
I can agree with everything said here. But I must also point out that a lot of the regulations come from US doing dumb crap. Blame whoever you want but we as drivers need to police ourselves. I’ve seen where drivers in the rest area in Beckley, WV left their washer fluid containers holding their urine sitting in the middle of the parking lot. Then we wonder why many businesses don’t allow overnight parking. At one time they probably did but WE, the drivers, messed it up by trashing the place. It’s a daily occurrence to see the SUPER truckers in the hammer lane riding the bumper of a 4 wheeler trying to bully them out of the lane. Yet we want those same people to stand behind us. Let’s not even discuss the nastiness and filth that shows up to customers. If WE present ourselves in the manner in which we want to be treated then maybe we would get somewhere. I’m sure I’ll get some flak but I could care less. I’m gonna get behind the wheel of my truck and keep burning up the highway.
All though we are happy to see her go. The grass might not be greener on other side of fence. In other words she might be leaving but they are still gone put somebody in office that has multiple degeress in bull@$!# that dont apply realistically to the trucking industry. They figure as long as it looks good on paper that’s all that matter. We are just numbers to them and they dont see us as human beings being away from home trying to support our families with a choke collar on. there are so many yes men nothing is ever gone change Until they see us as real people that they really need to survive there will be no changes. If I actually got paid for everything I do I would be rich. But old school drivers tell me that’s trucking for ya like it, love it or leave it.
An ex-Trucker who has true understanding of the things Truckers need to succeed is who should be replacing anybody leaving DOT or FMCSA. One with business savvy and his own success to back it up.
yep….the ex trucker might be best, especially if one knows the laws.
When are we going to get real people into a position like this that already knows what it’s like to be a truck driver and sees the right changed for future truckers.
Or is it the same thing just hired anyone but not a person who already been there.