Mark Schremmer
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has granted a limited five-year exemption to the American Trucking Associations from training or experience requirements related to conducting commercial motor vehicle inspections.
FMCSA announced the exemption in a notice that was published in the Federal Register on Thursday, Jan. 16.
Current regulations require motor carriers and intermodal equipment providers to ensure that individuals performing annual inspections of commercial motor vehicles, including individuals who inspect, maintain, repair or service CMV brake systems, have a total of at least one year of training or experience.
In 2021, ATA requested an exemption on behalf of individuals seeking inspector qualifications. Instead, ATA requested that FMCSA permit educators to self-certify their training programs based on the Technology and Maintenance Council’s recommended practices and permit technicians who complete those programs to be qualified to inspect commercial motor vehicles in less than one year.
The exemption request was supported by the American Bus Association.
The group said that the exemption would “positively impact the commercial motor vehicle industry by expanding accessibility and opportunities for professional development and staffing.”
FMCSA agreed that ATA’s Technology and Maintenance Council has developed a series of best practices that serve to give training providers the necessary content to deliver comprehensive training programs and assessments that provide individuals with the knowledge and skills to become qualified inspectors.
The agency said it has determined that “granting an exemption from the requirements that motor carriers and intermodal equipment providers ensure that individuals performing annual inspections have one year of training, experience or a combination thereof would likely achieve a level of safety equivalent to or greater than the level of safety provided by the regulatory requirements if the individuals instead successfully complete a performance-based inspector training program consistent with the Technology and Maintenance Council’s recommended practices.”
The exemption took effect Thursday, Jan. 16 and will run through Jan. 16, 2030.
