Matt Cole
Following executive orders from President Donald Trump related to the administration’s deregulatory agenda, the Department of Transportation is asking for public input on existing regulations and other regulatory documents that can be modified or repealed to help meet the administration’s goals.
In a Federal Register notice published Thursday, the DOT said it is seeking “comments and information to assist DOT in identifying existing regulations, guidance, paperwork requirements, and other regulatory obligations that can be modified or repealed, consistent with law, to ensure that DOT administrative actions do not undermine the national interest and that DOT achieves meaningful burden reduction while continuing to meet statutory obligations and ensure the safety of the U.S. transportation system.”
Trump’s executive orders require:
- Unless prohibited by law, whenever an agency proposes a new regulation, it must identify at least 10 existing regulations to be repealed, a significant expansion of a similar executive order issued during Trump’s first term requiring just two regulations be repealed for any one promulgated.
- For fiscal year 2025, all agencies must ensure that the total incremental cost of all new regulations, including repealed regulations, being finalized is significantly less than zero, as determined by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), unless otherwise required by law or instructions from OMB
- Any new incremental costs associated with new regulations must, to the extent permitted by law, be offset by the elimination of existing costs associated with at least 10 prior regulations
Citing a February executive order relative to the “President’s ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ Deregulatory Agenda,” too, the DOT Federal Register notice outlined seven categories of regulation it was seeking to identify, as all federal agencies must report them to “the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) within the Office of Management and Budget” for potential action:
- Unconstitutional regulations and those that raise serious constitutional difficulties, exceeding the intended scope of government power.
- Regs based on unlawful delegations of legislative power.
- Regs based on faulty interpretation of underlying statutory authority or prohibition.
- Those not authorized by clear statutory authority that implicate matters of social, political or economic significance.
- Rules that impose significant costs on private parties not outweighed by public benefits.
- Regs that harm the national interest by impeding technological innovation, infrastructure development, disaster response, inflation reduction, research and development, economic development, energy production, land use, and foreign policy objectives.
- Finally, regs that impose undue burdens on small business and impede private enterprise and entrepreneurship.
To implement the executive orders, DOT is taking two immediate steps: opening public comment as described here, and creating an email inbox at Transportation.RegulatoryInfo@dot.gov. Individuals can use that inbox to identify for DOT existing regulations, guidance, reporting requirements, and other regulatory obligations that they believe can be modified or repealed, consistent with law.
In the Request for Information (RFI) published Thursday, DOT is looking to identify “regulations, guidance or reporting requirements that are obsolete, unnecessary, unjustified, or simply no longer make sense.” It’s also looking to identify regs, guidance or reporting requirements that should be altered or eliminated.
In filing comments, commenters are asked to provide, to the extent possible, supporting data or other information such as cost information, and specific suggestions regarding repeal, replacement, or modification.
DOT has provided 12 questions related to Trump’s executive orders that commenters can respond to.
Comments can be filed online here, or by emailing Transportation.RegulatoryInfo@dot.gov, and including “Regulatory Reform RFI” in the subject line. Written comments and information are requested on or before May 5.
DOT’s call for input follows a request from Trump and Elon Musk’s new Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, for Americans to inform the top levels of the executive branch on waste, fraud and abuse at federal agencies.
Overdrive polling about what truckers would like to see DOGE tackle highlighted ELDs, truck parking and temporary visa/permanent work programs for foreign/immigrant drivers as among top issues they’d like to see addressed, among other areas of interest.
During President Trump’s first term, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee was tasked with making recommendations for regulations that were “outdated, unnecessary or ineffective,” and those that “impose costs that exceed benefits,” FMCSA said at the time.
FMCSA brought its own ideas to the meeting where the committee considered the task, and both FMCSA’s and MCSAC members’ recommendations from that effort can be seen here in discussion notes. Among regulatory provisions that were eliminated as a result were 1-5 a.m. periods required in any 34-hour restart under the hours of service (suspended by Congress prior), likewise requirements related to filing/storing no-defect Driver Vehicle Inspection Reports.
Members of the public were invited to provide written and/or in-person ideas to that committee at the time, yet few such ideas are reflected in the discussion notes, and it’s unclear what, if any, made it into the final report on the task, accessible via this link.
As noted above, Trump’s executive order during that term called for the elimination of just two regs for every new one instead of the 10 required during this term. Discussion among stakeholders and the FMCSA at that time, according to the MCSAC meeting discussion notes, acknowledged that “removing an obsolete rule allows the agency to add more safety regulations.”
Rob Abbott
When drivers approach weigh stations on the Interstate, they know they might be directed to pull in and submit to a thorough truck inspection. If that happens, enforcement officials will typically conduct an exhaustive examination for defects. They’ll look for worn tires, brakes out of adjustment, and burned-out lightbulbs for starters. They will also scrutinize the driver’s license, medical certificate, permits, registration, bills of lading, and electronic logging device (ELD) records.
Of course, drivers don’t relish these inspections since they take time and present the potential for citations. Most wonder what caused them to be selected for these inspections and what they can do about it. The answer is a little complex but not impossible to understand.
While enforcement officials use various tools and criteria to select trucks and drivers for inspection, the fleet’s Inspection Selection System (ISS) score is the most common. The ISS score assigned by FMCSA primarily reflects the fleet’s performance as measured by FMCSA’s Compliance, Safety Accountability (CSA) Safety Measurement System (SMS). However, there is not a 1 to 1 relationship between the two. The ISS only considers SMS measurement categories that most logically can be addressed during roadside inspections – like hours-of-service compliance and vehicle maintenance.
Each motor carrier is assigned an ISS score ranging from 1-100, which guides inspectors in selecting vehicles. The system is necessary because there are 14 million trucks on the road, but FMCSA and state enforcement agencies only have sufficient personnel to conduct approximately 3.5 million inspections annually. Higher scores are generally assigned to those with the poorest performance, though fleets lacking enough data to be scored are also prioritized for inspection. Fleets that use a weigh station bypass program often get an in-cab notification about a mile before the inspection station, telling them they may bypass the site entirely. Those that don’t must pull in, wait in line, and keep their fingers crossed that they won’t be selected for inspection.
FMCSA encourages states to inspect any fleet with an ISS score greater than 75 and allow any fleet with a score below 50 to pass through. Those with scores in between are considered “optional.” However, here’s the catch: Not every fleet with a score over 75 will get inspected each time they approach a weigh station. The state enforcement agencies simply don’t have the resources to do so. Instead, each state has its suggested “pull in” rate based on its capacity to inspect vehicles. For instance, one state might pull in every truck operated by a fleet with a score of 95 or higher, while another state might pull in only one in four. It all depends on the state and its enforcement capacity.
Remember that trucks are pulled in for reasons beyond their ISS scores. Vehicles that exceed allowable weight limits, with expired registrations, or failing to comply with state tax requirements will also get pulled in. In addition, inspectors retain the option to pick vehicles based on their discretion. For instance, if an inspector spots obvious load securement violations on a flatbed, missing lug nuts on a wheel, or an underinflated tire, the truck is more likely to get pulled in. In many states, they may also select a vehicle at random.
Complete truck inspections usually take about an hour, but there are things drivers can do to help the process go more smoothly and efficiently. Having their documentation in order and easily accessible is one of them. They should also be familiar with the steps needed to transfer data from their ELD to the enforcement officer. And, of course, it always helps to be polite and cooperative. Drivers need to understand they play an important role in facilitating the inspection process.
Want to learn more? The full ISS methodology is available here for those brave enough to dive into it. However, Fleetworthy has created an easy-to-read explanation of the system, which is available here (Understanding Inspection Selection System PDF). Fleets can access their ISS scores by registering with FMCSA to obtain an account and access their records.
The civil cases resulting in NUCLEAR VERDICTS sound the alarm for tort reform. Nuclear verdicts are increasing both in amounts and frequency and the need for tort reform across the nation, especially in so-called “judicial hellholes”. Motor carriers need to be operating safely and compliant. This calls for a “Safety Culture” attitude within the management and employees. It is imperative that drivers are WELL vetted, DQ files are current, and HOS regulations and FMCSRs are followed and obeyed by ALL employees.
The FMCSA Driver Violations In 2023 show that many drivers and motor carriers are not operating safely and in compliance.
Operating a CMV Without a CDL (53,317 OOS Orders)
ELD – No Record of Duty Status (ELD Required) (33,603 OOS Orders)
False Report of Driver’s Record of Duty Status (30,772 OOS Orders)
No Record of Duty Status When One Is Required (ELD Not Required) (13,075 OOS Orders)
Driver Does Not Have a Valid Operator’s License for the CMV Being Operated (8,569 OOS Orders)
Driver Failing to Retain Previous 7 Days Records of Duty Status (8,298 OOS Orders)
Operating a Property-Carrying Vehicle Without Possessing a Valid Medical Certificate (6,259 OOS Orders)
Driver Operating a CMV Without Proper Endorsements or in Violation of Restrictions (6,023 OOS Orders)
Prohibited From Performing Safety Sensitive Functions Per 382.501(a) in the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse (5,447 OOS Orders)
False Record of Duty Status – Improper Use of Personal Conveyance Exception (4,855 OOS Orders)
The same for CMV violations discovered in 2023.
Tire-Flat and/or Audible Air Leak 393.75A3 (98,922 OOS Orders)
Brakes Out of Service: The Number of Defective Brakes Is Equal to or Greater Than 20 Percent of the Service Brakes on the Vehicle or Combination 396.3ABOS (49,501 OOS Orders)
Inoperative Turn Signal 393.9TS (43,200 OOS Orders)
No/Improper Breakaway or Emergency Braking 393.43 (27,965 OOS Orders)
Flat Tire or Fabric Exposed 393.75A (23,127 OOS Orders)
Inoperative Brake Lamps 393.9BRKLAMP (22,893 OOS Orders)
Inoperable Required Lamp 393.9 (18,929 OOS Orders)
Brake Tubing and Hose Adequacy 393.45 (15,977 OOS Orders)
Axle Positioning Parts Defective/Missing 393.207A (12,574 OOS Orders)
Leaking/Spilling/Blowing/Falling Cargo 393.100B (12,518 OOS Orders)
These driver and vehicle violations indicate that many motor carriers are failing to adhere to the guiding star of compliance, the FMCSRs. The plaintiff attorneys do not have to look far for the portable ATMs for large payouts.
49CFR part 390.1(e) Knowledge of and compliance with the regulations;
(1) Every employer shall be knowledgeable of and comply with all regulations contained in this subchapter that are applicable to that motor carrier’s operations.
(2) Every driver and employee involved in motor carrier operations shall be instructed regarding, and shall comply with, all applicable regulations contained in this subchapter.
(3) All motor vehicle equipment and accessories required by this chapter shall be maintained in compliance with all applicable performance and design criteria set forth in this subchapter.
Jim Perkins
The harsh weather of winter months naturally brings fleet safety more into focus.
At face value, fleet safety is keeping drivers out of harm’s way. Beneath the surface, safety is a key factor in boosting efficiency and decreasing total cost of ownership. Simply put, a culture of safety instilled into all facets of a fleet can be good for the bottom line.
Preventing accidents not only protects drivers and others on the road, but also prevents additional expenses. For example, the Network of Employers for Traffic Safety (NETS) reported on-the-job crashes that result in an injury can cost upwards of $75,000.
Ultimately, a safer fleet relies on systems allowing a more seamless and intentional on-the-road process. In the fleet management industry, there are several services that not only provide worthwhile safety features but also increase efficiency. A commitment to reducing potentially dangerous incidents doesn’t mean a sacrifice in profits.
The following is a list of fleet management tools that not only increase safety, but fleet efficiency as well. Working together in tandem or individually, they can help save fleets money and help reduce costly incidents.
Telematics
The offerings in transportation mobility technology continue to evolve. Telematics solutions emphasize efficiency via safety perhaps more than any other fleet management tool, but also help boost fuel economy and reduce fuel costs. The amount of data available through telematics, increasingly complex safety systems and advanced analytics continue to grow in importance and add to more standard telematics offerings.
According to analysts at Frost & Sullivan, telematics helps fleets save about 20% to 25% on fuel expenses through the promotion of better driving practices, including the reduction of speeding, harsh acceleration and hard braking. Optimizing routes is one of the most used features of telematics. In doing so, drivers are more likely to remain on-task and reduce mileage that could lead to further wear and tear on vehicles.
Telematics also help manage work hours and improve schedules that can help reduce fatigue – a major reason for accidents. Using data effectively can help fleet managers increase productivity by 10 to 15% and reduce overtime by 10 to 15%, decreasing daily driving time by 20 to 30 minutes based on the previously mentioned Frost & Sullivan analysis.
Telematics and in-vehicle cameras can reconstruct accidents, allowing fleet managers to build safety training programs for drivers. Additionally, monitoring driving behavior is a safety-added value that helps prevent on-the-job incidents.
Fleet vehicles can be put through great stress and strain over time. Breakdowns and unplanned maintenance can impact efficiency, and place drivers in dangerous situations. Telematics can alert fleet managers to needed vehicle maintenance, helping keep fleet vehicles safe and ready for the road. In turn, this helps avoid even more expensive repairs or accidents that can occur from inconsistent upkeep.
Fleet cards
Implementing a fleet card program is an easy and popular way to save money on everyday fuel purchases. However, most overlook that safety is built into most fleet cards. For drivers, it eliminates the need to carry cash or personal credit cards to fill up fleet vehicles and helps drivers avoid the need to collect cumbersome paper receipts.
Fleet cards and their software platforms can help avoid fleet fraud, with the ability to track exact fuel spend and set limits on fuel purchases. The ability to quickly activate cards or cancel them at a moment’s notice if lost or stolen is another convenient safety feature. Driver ID technology helps to monitor expenditures for each vehicle driver.
Mobile fueling
Mobile fueling services deliver a variety of fuel options to fleets with trained technicians filling vehicles on site during downtime. This service, in addition to helping save on costs via bulk fuel purchasing, removes the need for drivers to carry cash or personal credit cards to fill up.
Requiring drivers to fill-up vehicles frequently can reduce productivity. According to Geotab, drivers are diverted about two miles out of the way to get gas, spending about 8 minutes at the gas station each time they stop for fuel on average. A fueling trip adds more than 20 minutes to a driver’s shift. Mobile fueling drastically reduces driver fill-ups at gas stations, helping save over 3,000 hours of fueling and over 20,000 miles of fueling trips for a fleet of 100.
For those fleets utilizing the service, safety starts before the first truck delivers a drop of fuel on-site. A mobile fueling provider, such as Shell TapUp walks fleets through the required permitting and guidelines approvals, establishing safety procedures from the onset. Fueling technicians follow strict adherence to safety procedures and protocols on- and off-site, even leading local officials and fleet staff through on-site fueling demonstrations designed to help prevent safety incidents.
Electric vehicles and EV charging
Safety is also an important element among EV fleets. More fleets are turning to electric vehicles (EVs) with each passing year, largely due to their long-term cost savings, federal and local policy, incentives and the push to decarbonize. Safety comes into play when a fleet is assessing EV implementation which also helps fleet operators run a more efficient fleet. Technical and commercial proposals are shared between teams before installation, and technicians follow high safety and security standards on charging station installation days. Following that, online platforms are used to monitor efficiency, and dedicated teams provide ongoing support to answer day-to-day inquiries and keep equipment running.
Kathy Close
A CSA BASIC (Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Category) score is a percentile ranking used to compare a motor carrier against its peers to assist in identify high-risk carriers.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) generates CSA BASIC scores for the following seven categories:
- Unsafe Driving: Dangerous or careless operation of commercial motor vehicles (CMVs).
- Hours of Service Compliance: Driving CMVs when ill, fatigued, or in violation of the hours-of-service rules.
- Driver Fitness: Operation of CMVs by drivers who are unfit to operate a CMV due to lack of training, experience, or medical qualification.
- Controlled Substances and Alcohol: Operation of a CMV while impaired due to alcohol, illegal drugs, and misuse of prescription medications or over-the-counter medications.
- Vehicle Maintenance: CMV failure due to improper or inadequate maintenance or inadequate cargo securement.
- Hazardous Materials (HM) Compliance: Unsafe marking, handling, or transportation of hazardous materials in an amount requiring a placard.
- Crash-Related: Histories or patterns of CMV crashes, including frequency and severity.
How is a CSA BASIC score derived?
The FMCSA uses a motor carrier’s safety data that is transmitted by state and federal enforcement to the Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS). The past two years’ worth of roadside inspection and crash reports contain critical data elements used in CSA’s elaborate algorithms.
The algorithms provide carriers with a “measure” for each BASIC, taking into consideration:
- The severity of a roadside inspection violation or crash,
- How recent the event took place, and
- The carrier’s level of exposure (i.e., vehicle miles traveled, the average number of power units, number of inspections)
This BASIC measure is then compared against similar motor carriers for the percentile ranking. The rank is on a scale of 1-100, with 100 being the worst-performing. This percentile ranking is the carrier’s BASIC score.
How is the percentile ranking used?
Those motor carriers that exceed a predetermined threshold for an individual BASIC score are subject to an intervention by the FMCSA.
Interventions include:
- Warning letters advising of apparent safety problems and the potential consequences.
- Targeted roadside inspections to verify that the warning letters are being taken seriously.
- Offsite investigations that involve the collection and reviewing of documents at an FMCSA location.
- Focused onsite investigations at the motor carrier’s place of business, focusing on a specific safety problem.
- Comprehensive onsite investigations that occur at the motor carrier’s place of business.
- Cooperative safety plans developed and followed voluntarily by a motor carrier to address safety problems.
- Notices of violation to put a carrier on notice of specific regulatory violations that need to be corrected “or else.”
- Settlement agreements to contractually bind a motor carrier to take actions that improve safety.
- Notices of claims to levy a fine and compel compliance in the case of “severe” or repeat violations.
The intervention taken by the FMCSA is not sequential. If a carrier has multiple BASICs exceeding the thresholds and/or scores close to 100 percent, the agency will probably go straight to an investigation. A carrier can only be placed out of service based on the results of a comprehensive investigation since it contains elements of a compliance review.
How Can I Lower My CSA BASIC Scores?
The data used in the CSA formulas are only used for 24 months. As a result, you can only lower your CSA scores over time, by accumulating recent, violation-free inspections, and by avoiding crashes.
To improve your performance data, you should:
- Examine the violations that are scored in each BASIC,
- Look for trends (e.g., same driver or location), and
- Find a root cause for the safety event.
You should use this information to come up with a safety plan to avoid future violations and crashes. If the safety performance does not improve, you’ll have to re-evaluate its findings (find the real root cause) and apply another remedy until the issue is resolved.
To view your CSA scores and data, you must log into the CSA Safety Measurement System website. You can only access the carrier view of the SMS via an FMCSA Portal account. You also need a Login.gov username and password, since an account is required to securely log into any federal website such as the Portal and SMS.
The public view of the SMS does not require any type of logging into the database and can be accessed directly from the SMS website. This view allows carriers, customers, insurance providers, potential employees access, and any other member of the public access to the carrier’s raw data. However, they will not see a property-carrier’s BASIC scores. Passenger-carrier BASIC scores are visible in the public view with the exception of the Crash Indicator and Hazardous Materials Compliance BASICs.
Drivers’ names will not appear on roadside inspection or crash reports for property or passenger carriers.
Doug Marcello
WHY IT MATTERS: The value of safety and risk is not theoretical. ATRI’s
Annual Operational Cost of Trucking Study quantifies its value and importance to the bottom line. And with anticipated premium increases, it is now more vital than ever to reduce risk so that an insurance captive is a financially viable alternative for your company.
THE BIG PICTURE: I recently wrote that safety was an investment, not a cost. Management and operations should not think of it as a burden, but as a protection of the bottom line.
This value is brought home by ATRI’s Annual Operational Cost of Trucking Study for 2024. Get a copy at An Analysis of the Operational Costs of Trucking: 2024 Update (truckingresearch.org)
Insurance and risk are major expenses. The report quantifies the amount and demonstrates the crucial need to act to minimize this exposure.
THE NUMBERS: For those in your organization that thrive on the quantifiable—you know, “if you can’t count it, it doesn’t exist—here are some data points for them. And these do not include PD coverage.
–AVERAGE MARGINAL COST OF INSURANCE PREMIUM: $.099 per mile or $3.99 per hour.
Think about it: Your insurance costs you ten cent for every mile you run. Four dollars for every hour your truck operates.
Consider that in relation to your rates. And your bottom line.
The bad news—in 2014 premiums were $.071/mile and $2.86/hour. That’s an increase of almost three cents per mile and almost $1.20/hour.
I became an attorney to avoid math, so check me. And I defer to the mathematically inclined to do the percentages.
These costs per mile vary per region of the country:
-Midwest: $0.083
-Northeast: $0.092
-Southeast: $0.104
-Southwest: $0.097
-West: $0.105
And LTL’s—average cost at $0.045/mile.
-INCREASE-2022-2023: Insurance premiums increased 12.5% in 2023 from the prior year. ATRI did the math, so it is correct.
The only item to increase more was tolls (21.4%). Wages “only” increased 7.6% and benefits only 2.7%.
Worse news—the “word” is that last year’s premium increase percentage will pale in comparison to this year. I’m hearing increases of 15%-25% this year.
-TOTAL COST OF RISK: Premiums are just the beginning. If you’ve read my articles or heard me talk, it is the Total Cost of Risk that matters.
More importantly, it was a key element of the ATRI study on Impact of Rising Insurance Costs on the Trucking Industry The Impact of Rising Insurance Costs on the Trucking Industry (truckingresearch.org)
“Total Cost of Risk”? Premium plus deductible/retention plus cost of risk reduction technology.
ATRI analyzed the first two—premium plus the out-of-pocket deductible/retention amount. The overall industry average out-of-pocket expense per mile was $0.036 in 2023 (or $1.44 per hour). That would make a total (premiums + out-of-pocket expenses) of $0.135 per mile or $5.43 per hour.
What it found per the combined premium plus out-of-pocket expenses based on fleet size, was as follows:
-Less than 5 trucks: $0.175/mile
-5-25 trucks: $0.204/mile
-26-100 trucks: $0.171/mile
-101-250 trucks: $0.136/mile
-251-1,000 trucks: $0.132/mile
-More than 1,000: $0.110/mile
ACTION: Inactivity is not an option. You must attack the problem as you would other costs. You’ve read and heard me before:
-Proactively prepare to avoid exposure—avoid “Death by Dogma”;
-Attack the “Dark Period” when billboard attorneys gin up damages;
-Respond immediately—prepare today for accident response
-Litigate aggressively and be prepared to go to trial.
BOTTOM LINE: It’s the bottom line. A bottom line impacted by insurance premiums and out-of-pocket payments. Further proof that safety is not an expense as much as an investment.
