Moving Words – 2024 Proposed Trucking Regulations
Timothy Brady
“Rules are for the obedience of fools and the guidance of wise men.” – Harry Day
As we move into 2024, we need to stay cognizant of the continuing rules and regulations entering Enforcement or Proposed Rulemaking for 2024.
- FMCSA Safety Measurement System (SMS) Updates
The biggest move is the updated FMCSA (SMS) Safety Measurement System. The FMCSA has proposed substantial changes to enforcement strategies regarding the SMS. Here are the top four changes:- Reorganized BASICs (Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories) by adding new safety categories including Unsafe Driving and Vehicle Maintenance.
- Reorganized roadside violations, dividing the 950 violations into 116 distinct groups.
- Simplified severity weights, replacing the 1-10 scale with a 1 or 2 score
- A greater focus on carriers who have received a violation in the last 12 months
These changes will have a major influence on all carriers.
- Competency and Skills Testing
In 2009, the Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety submitted a proposal urging the FMCSA to implement a competency test for commercial drivers, ensuring that all CDL holders are qualified, correctly trained, and knowledgeable regarding federal trucking regulations. The petition was placed on the back shelf over the next 14 years. Then in August of 2023, the FMCSA issued an Advance Notice of Potential Rule Making (ANPRM) indicating their intent to pursue the motion.
Although this new regulation has not been implemented, it’s in the best interest of moving companies and van lines to review their policies for training and hiring in 2024. Routine training is valuable for new drivers and seasoned CDL holders alike. A successful driver training program should incorporate space management, distracted driving, and defensive driving. Commercial carriers need to continue stringent hiring practices to nip problems in the bud before they happen. Thoroughly evaluating your driver candidates will help to identify high-risk individuals, ensuring only the safest and most skilled drivers drive your trucks.
This proposed rule has another section of direct interest to household movers, in which it would also add a proficiency exam that includes specific HHG rules and regulations for new household goods motor carriers. - Rigorous Re-evaluation Return to Duty Process
Drivers will be required to undergo a rigorous re-evaluation to return to good standing. Title 49 CFR parts 40 and 382 states: drivers with drug or alcohol violations are given “prohibited” status in the FMCSA’s Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse. As of November 18, 2024, all prohibited drivers will lose either existing commercial driving privileges or approval for a Commercial Learners Permit (CLP).
Prohibited drivers must:- Meet with a DOT-qualified Substance Abuse Professional (SAP)
- Complete their recommended treatment and/or education plan
- Pass a return-to-duty test
- Pass six unannounced follow-up tests assigned throughout the first 12 months back on the job
To prevent potential suspension, drivers and fleet managers alike must learn the ins and outs of CDL Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse procedures, including pre-employment drug and alcohol testing, how to access records, and what data must be reported to the FMCSA.
- Mandatory Speed Limiters
A DOT report this last fall got drivers and carriers’ attention by bringing the idea of limiting the speed of CMVs to 68 mph on interstates and highways. Then the DOT changed their report, explaining that a specific speed limit hadn’t been decided and evaluation was still in progess. The official proposal from the FMCSA is to be published on Friday, December 29, 2023. Besides the maximum speed limit, the proposal is expected to outline which types of vehicles will be subject to the new regulations. It’s anticipated that speed limiters will be required on all CMVs manufactured after 2003 weighing 26,000 pounds or more.
“The young man knows the rules, but the old man knows the exceptions.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
