The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration recently released a draft copy of their Strategic Plan. Although there aren't any major revelations it is an interesting read and insight into their thought process. Also, this serves as a good one-stop review of proposals that FMCSA has made over the past several years.

Commercial motor vehicle crashes, injuries and fatalities have declined.

The Strategic Plan clearly states that "the decline...is due to the continual safety efforts of FMCSA and its partners." The initiatives outlined in the Strategic Plan are designed to achieve an even greater reduction. When viewed from this perspective it's easy to see how FMCSA would consider reducing driving hours even though the industry is posting record safety numbers.

FMCSA relies on partnerships and collaborations to act as a "force multiplier". Simply put FMCSA relies on state and local government agencies to act as their enforcement arm. They conduct nearly all of the roadside inspections and new entrant audits as well as 40% of the compliance reviews. The Strategic Plan includes a continued emphasis on grant funding for these strategic partners.

Enough preliminaries - where are they headed?

New Entrants

FMCSA is concerned about out-of-service motor carriers reincarnating themselves as a new entrant. There will be changes in the application process as well as a vetting process. Also look for prosecution of those who attempt to circumvent this process.

Safety Fitness Determination

An on-site audit will no longer be required. Future Safety Ratings will be determined by CSA scores. As such they will be updated monthly.

Medical

A commercial driver medical oversight program including specific medical standards, training of medical practitioners as well as a national registry of certified medical examiners. Also, the issuance of a medical certification will be linked to the driver's CDL - no more medical card.

Drugs and Alcohol

Establish a drug and alcohol clearinghouse. Positive test results will be posted and available to prospective employers. It is currently estimated that 50% of the drivers who test positive don't complete the return-to-duty process. They simply seek other employment without informing the new employer of his/her complete employment history.

Financial Assistance Awards

Grant money for safety education programs will include a broader array of recipients including school educators, driver education programs and safety outreach organizations.

Technology

FMCSA will be actively involved with promoting and testing on-board safety systems. These devices include adaptive cruise control, forward collision warning, lane departure warning, crash imminent braking and stability control systems. If deemed effective future rulemakings could make them mandatory equipment, at least on new trucks.

Safety Culture

FMCSA will work to increase the number of fleets incorporating a driver-focused safety culture centered on driver risk factors including health, wellness, safety and fatigue management programs.

"The greatest potential for creating the safest CMV industry lies in focusing outreach, oversight and enforcement resources on the entire transportation life-cycle." FMCSA will be focusing on the responsibilities that all parties have for making safety improvements. This includes impacting driver behavior, roadway design and even vehicle technologies.

In short, look for not only more regulations but an increase in scope as well. FMCSA has noticed the trucking industry's ever increasing safety record and intends to regulate it to an even higher standard.