A group of national and regional trucking associations, trade organizations, and carriers have all signed a letter addressed to the new Secretary of Transportation, Elaine Chao, asking her to rescind the recently proposed Carrier Safety Fitness Determination rule.
It’s rare that you see the American Trucking Association and the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association on the same side of things. Even rarer when you add in the National Association of Small Trucking Companies, multiple large carriers, state trucking associations, bus associations, and fuel institutes, and household moving associations. In all, over 60 companies and organizations signed the letter – and it seems most everyone in the commercial transportation industry can agree that the proposed Safety Fitness Determination rule has got to go.
While the signatories to the letter have no issue with the goal of a “rational safety fitness determination system,” they do take issue with building it on top of the “flawed foundation” that is the current Compliance, Safety and Accountability (CSA) program.
In the letter, the organizations state that since the CSA system is so broken, no rule that is created based on the findings of such a system can be successful.
“As representatives of the commercial motor vehicle operator industry representing property and passenger carriers, we do not believe it makes sense to build a new safety fitness determination system upon a flawed system which is currently undergoing Congressionally mandated review and reform and is likely to change,” the letter says.
The letter, which you can read in its entirety here, concludes by urging Secretary Chao to “rescind this ill-advised and harmful rulemaking immediately and participate fully in the reform of the CSA/SMS process as mandated by Congress.”
Source: gobytrucknews, truckinginfo, overdrive, truckersreport
Michael Scott says
Being that it was the senate that made the rules, the senate should be advised to resend it.
Bill Compton says
You are correct. The problem is you or I can not address the Senate, but she can, and that issue is in her pervue of responsibility.
Jeff says
What’s next? Every driver has to be 5’9″, 180, blonde hair, blue eyes, and of Aryan descent? They don’t want their useless junk delivered to Walmart too badly.
MrYowler says
Well, the DoT chief isn’t looking like she has spent a whole lot of time driving a truck, so perhaps what you look like won’t be on the table. But create fitness rules for forklift drivers, typists, teachers, and/or congressmen, and see how long it takes before someone screams “prejudice”, “medical privacy”, or “harassment”… :-/
Jon says
She needs to Do a Truck, Train, and Tug-Barge ride along. Aviation is all ready strictly covered.
The train is strict too but autos do get in the way.
Stephen Baetz says
The whole system is flawed to begin with.
The feds need to overhaul the whole thing.
CSA is flawed
Electronic on board Recorders are forcing driver’s to drive faster to get from point A to point B. It’s not making us safer it’s making us less as we don’t want to stop for anything along the way.
The 30 minute rule needs to be rescinded. It’s a joke for those using paper over plastic.
The 14 hour rule needs to go away also. I think I’m a better judge of when I am tired than some desk jockey in Washington.
Also we need to be able to split the sleeper berth time as we see fit to do so.
Daris says
The senate was republican …why would they go back and vote what they instituted..yall so busy wanting to blame Obama for all the ills of your life..these people blowing smoke up yo tailpipe..
J R Simpson says
A lot of things need to change. But mostly, we need someone in there that understands the trucking industry.