FMCSA Hits Road To Reauthorization

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is less than two years old, but it is already starting work on a reauthorization bill for 2003.
About 50 people attended the first of the agency's "listening sessions" on the subject Thursday in Atlanta,

and offered their thoughts on issues such as CDL oversight and localities doing truck inspections.
The FMCSA was authorized in the Motor Carrier Safety Improvement Act of 1999. That authorization expires at the end of fiscal year 2003, which ends in September 2003. By the spring of 2003, debates over reauthorization of transportation programs is expected to be in high gear, Chief Safety Officer Julie Anna Cirillo explained. By next spring, they expect to see hearings on the issue starting in Congress. "Before then, we want them to have our ideas," Cirillo said, in the form of a Bush administration proposed bill on all surface transportation programs, including motor carriers. Reauthorization could fund the agency through 2009.
Agency officials shared a list of 15 areas they felt might need to be addressed in reauthorization legislation. Some were enforcement loopholes; others were items that will likely come up among legislators and therefore need to be addressed.
The ideas discussed during the Atlanta meeting were:
1. How can the agency improve oversight of the Commercial Driver's License Program? One of the big issues there is poor sharing of data between states. One attendee from Arkansas said courts are assessing civil penalties that fatten jurisdiction coffers but don't go on a driver's record. Others told stories of drivers getting non-commercial licenses in other states in order to spread out violations in personal vehicles, even of some drivers getting new identities in order to get another CDL. A Georgia enforcement official suggested requiring some sort of "biometric" license ID, such as fingerprints or retinal scans.
2. What is the best approach to ridding the industry of high-risk drivers - those who move from company to company? This was a hot issue. Companies say they cannot get the driver information they need in order to make hiring decisions. Criminal histories and other information are nearly impossible to get because of privacy laws. Previous companies the driver has worked for clam up for fear of lawsuits. A Penske representative said his company has stopped obtaining driver records for their customers because of privacy issues. Previous legislation has called for regulations that would protect trucking companies from liability for sharing information about bad drivers, but regulations have never been developed. "We don't [eagerly] wait for a whole lot of regulations, but that's one we are," said Dave Osiecki of the American Trucking Associations.
"I view this as a real dilemma," Cirillo said. Licensing, she noted, has always been the responsibility and prerogative of states. "I'm not sure we're inclined to develop a national interstate commercial driver license database." Yet, she said, it's a huge responsibility for states to keep the information in a shared state database updated. Different states have different systems, and many define violations differently. Funding or grants to help states do this was discussed as one possible solution.
3. Should FMCSA expand its medical program? Some have criticized trucking for not certifying doctors to give drivers DOT physicals, as the airline industry does, but the difference between the number of commercial drivers and the number of pilots is huge. One attendee suggested that the DOT physical include screening for sleep disorders.
4. What should the federal role be in driver training? Should incentives by provided to community colleges and other institutions? Should there be mandatory minimum training standards? Viewpoints varied widely on this issue. Some believed that the CDL has created a generation of drivers who know how to pass the test but don't know how to drive a truck, and that the government should set training requirements. One fleet representative said his company only hires drivers from schools certified by the Professional Truck Driver Institute. Cirillo, while admitting she didn't know much about PTDI, said that if more fleets took this approach, the industry could solve the training dilemma on its own.
5. How can the agency help improve the safety of interaction between passenger cars and commercial motor vehicles? "We can't just deal with one side of the equation," said Cindy Elliot, the leader of the reauthorization team. Industry representatives wanted to see more federal funding for education programs of passenger car drivers. Cirillo threw out the idea of separate truck roadways, like HOV lanes, but without much response.
6. Should MCSAP funds, currently used for truck inspections, be used for traffic enforcement as well?
7. Should localities, such as counties, be part of the MCSAP inspection program? This was another hot issue at the hearing. Most of the attendees were against the idea, citing concerns such as counties using it for a revenue stream, poorly trained officials doing inspections, and lack of support from the state. But Cirillo said this issue is something that will likely be considered in reauthorization hearings. "The House of Representatives represents localities," she said, "and they are very interested in having localities involved in motor carrier safety enforcement." The agency is already being pushed to make counties primary recipients of MCSAP funds, she said. Some counties are already doing truck inspections - some under MCSAP funding and training, some totally on their own.
8. Should FMCSA have more authority over intrastate carriers? Right now, if the FMCSA puts a carrier out of service, it can still operate intrastate - and vice versa. Cirillo said she was surprised to discover this loophole.
9. How can the FMCSA make sure every state joins PRISM? By the end of the next fiscal year, 23 states are expected to be enrolled in this program, which tracks motor carrier safety data by vehicle.
10. How can the agency help the states improve their data collection and reporting? Cirillo said there is plenty of funding available for this that states may not realize. The other problem is that states simply don't make it a priority. The federal government, however, views it as a big issue; the DOT's inspector general has even recommended penalizing states that don't fix their data problems. Some states, she noted, can take six months to get their data uploaded. In today's electronic environment, they should be able to upload it virtually instantaneously.
11. How can FMCSA encourage states to establish commercial passenger carrier safety programs?
12. How can the agency end the out-of-service cycle? Carriers either ignore orders putting them out of service, or improve just enough to get back into service, then fall back into old habits. One suggestion was increasing the fine for violating an out-of-service order to $100,000 from the current $10,000.
13. What kind of research and technology might offer a big breakthrough in fatality reductions? Should universities be involved to help enrich the research program and attract new talent? Less than 1 percent of the FMCSA's current budget is for research and technology. Cirillo noted that research isn't just technological gizmos; it's also things such as researching training standards or studying driver fatigue.
14. How can research and technology results be transferred to the transportation community? "How do I get the vast majority of trucking companies, who are small and close to the margin, to invest $500 in a new safety device?" Cirillo asked.
15. Should the FMCSA be paid for with dedicated funding? Currently, the agency is paid for out of the highway t