The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration now expects to publish its supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking (SNPRM) on a motor carrier-based speed limiter mandate in May of this year, according to an updated Significant Rulemaking Report from the Department of Transportation.
The previous rulemaking report published in September, which first listed the maximum speed for the mandate at 68 mph before the agency backtracked to remove a specific speed, indicated the speed limiter proposal would be published in December 2023.
FMCSA said its new proposal will require motor carriers operating trucks equipped with an electronic engine control unit (ECU) capable of governing the truck’s maximum speed to limit the truck to a speed as determined by the rulemaking and maintain that ECU setting for the service life of the truck.
The new SNPRM would supersede FMCSA’s joint proposal with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in 2016.
[Related: 68 mph? FMCSA backtracks after ‘inaccurate’ reveal of speed-limiter intentions]
DOT’s latest Significant Rulemaking Report also updates the expected publication dates of other rulemakings in the works.
The joint final rule from NHTSA and FMCSA to propose to require automatic emergency braking (AEB) systems on trucks is still expected to be published in April -- the same timeline as the previous rulemaking report released in September. The proposed AEB rulemaking released last year would require heavy commercial vehicles with FMVSS-required electronic stability control systems to be equipped with an AEB system.
[Related: Proposal to mandate automatic emergency braking systems announced]
An SNPRM that would require a new-entrant knowledge test is also still set to publish by its previously proposed date of July 2024. The rulemaking would consider methods for ensuring a new applicant carrier is knowledgeable about the applicable safety requirements before being granted New Entrant authority. The agency is considering whether to implement a proficiency exam as part of its revised New Entrant Safety Assurance Process as well as other alternatives. The rulemaking is in response to issues raised in a petition from Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety regarding new-entrant applicant knowledge.
Near the end of last summer, FMCSA released an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) to gather feedback on potential changes to its carrier safety rating system, dubbed its “safety fitness determination” rule. The agency is now planning to release a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) by July 2025, giving the agency potentially 18 more months before the rule’s publication.
FMCSA said its rulemaking will seek information on how it might use data and resources more effectively to identify unfit motor carriers and to remove them from the nation's roadways. FMCSA would seek public comment about the use of available safety data, including inspection data, in determining carrier fitness to operate. The agency would also seek public input on possible changes to the current three-tier safety fitness rating structure. The action would also include a review of the list of Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) that the agency uses in its safety fitness rating methodology.
[Related: FMCSA making a run at revamp to carrier safety rating system]
Notably absent from the new rulemakings report is a rulemaking on brokered-freight transparency, which had been included in the previous report. The broker transparency rulemaking was a response to requests from the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association and the Small Business in Transportation Coalition (SBTC) to provide more transparency in brokered freight transaction.
OOIDA petitioned FMCSA to require brokers to provide an electronic copy of each transaction record automatically within 48 hours after the contractual service has been completed and explicitly prohibit brokers from including any provision in their contracts that requires a motor carrier to waive its rights to access the transaction records.
SBTC requested that FMCSA prohibit brokers from coercing or otherwise requiring parties to brokers’ transactions to waive their right to review the record of the transaction as a condition for doing business, as well as to adopt regulatory language indicating that brokers’ contracts may not include a stipulation or clause exempting the broker from having to comply with the transparency requirement.
On the other side of the fight, the Transportation Intermediaries Association, representing brokers, has vowed to fight any proposal that would change broker transparency regulations, with TIA President and CEO Anne Reinke calling such a change “rate intrusion,” adding that it would drive rates down. Last year, FMCSA denied TIA's 2020 petition to remove the 49 CFR 371.3(c) transparency regulation entirely.
FMCSA’s previous timeline for the rule’s publication was Oct. 31, 2024. Now, the rule isn’t listed on the report at all. It's currently unclear if FMCSA intends to continue pursuing the rule. OOIDA said in a statement Monday that, "Our understanding is that this is not unusual and that not all proposals go on these types of reports."
[Related: Rate transparency, fraud top broker group's list of concerns]
NHTSA rules on equipment
NHTSA also has rukemakings in the works that will impact heavy-duty trucks.
One such rule is updated fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas standards that the agency is working on in concert with the Environmental Protection Agency. An NPRM is expected to be published in August related to efficiency standards for medium- and heavy-duty engines and vehicles.
NHTSA has also been working on a rulemaking to require side underride guards on trailers. The agency last year published an ANPRM seeking feedback on the benefits, costs and other impacts of side underride guards. The new rulemaking report does not list a date for the publication of an NPRM. Instead, the next date listed is October 2024 for “analyzing comments.”
[Related: NHTSA pressing forward with trailer side underride guard requirement]
