In an effort to protect drivers on the roadways across America, The Truck Safety Coalition is demanding that the Department of Transportation enforce stricter safety regulations for commercial trucks and buses, requiring installation of advanced braking systems as well as speed-limiting devices.
A coalition of 10 groups has made a call for action to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, urging the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to implement overdue truck safety standards and update its hours-of-service rule. President Tami Friedrich Trakh stated that further reform is essential in order to protect drivers on the roads throughout America.
The group focused attention on the February 3 train derailment and fire in East Palestine, OH which consisted of the transportation of hazardous materials. “This similar scenario affects the safety of hundreds of thousands of hazardous materials shipments that move by truck every day through communities across the United States,” the letter states. “Government inaction and relentless opposition by special trucking interests puts the public at unnecessary and unreasonable risk of a deadly and dangerous crash.”
As the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act comes into effect, agencies are ramping up efforts to bring automatic emergency braking systems onto heavy trucks by March of next year. The Department of Transportation’s Fall 2022 agenda details how proposed rulemaking will require and standardize performance levels for these important safety features in order to ensure safer roads across our nation.
In order to reduce roadway fatalities, a coalition is pushing for federal regulation of the speed-limiting devices installed on commercial motor vehicles. Recently published by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), this advanced notice expands upon an earlier joint proposal from NHTSA and FMCSA in 2016 that would require speed limiters be incorporated into buses, trucks, and multipurpose passenger vehicles over 26K pounds. Though no top limit was specified upfront in the most recent rule proposed by FMSCA alone; previously they have recommended capping speeds at 60 mph as well as 65 or 68mph depending on road conditions or routes taken.
FMCSA is set to publish a new proposed rule in June, as indicated on their regulatory agenda. This could bring further regulations and changes to the transportation industry.
In addition, the letter is asking for an undoing of a 2020 rule change that has caused uproar among commercial truck drivers. This would restore the 2011 regulations and give some flexibility to hours-of-service issues. “We urge you to restore the 2011 rule immediately and require a 30-minute rest break after eight hours of driving that does not allow non-driving work,” the letter states. “Additionally, DOT should reinstitute the rulemaking requiring screening and treatment of safety-sensitive personnel for obstructive sleep apnea, something DOT already requires of air pilots.”
Source: Safety+Health
