Progress is being made on efforts to address some of the problems facing the nation’s tucking industry, according to a group of state trucking association executives.
The Trucking Association Executives Council this week released a progress report it says documents “federal and state action to remove illegal operators, strengthen regulatory oversight and restore fairness for trucking companies and professional drivers who follow the rules.”
The report follows up on TAEC’s release last fall of Trucking Resurgence: The Fight for Fairness and Safety, an industry-led action plan identifying regulatory and enforcement gaps that allowed unsafe and fraudulent operators to enter and remainin the trucking industry, according to the council.
Since then, the Department of Transportation, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, law enforcement agencies and state governments have taken action on nearly every priority identified in the plan, the council said in a statement.
“This progress demonstrates what can happen when the trucking industry and its regulators recognize a problem, share information and work together toward solutions,” said Tony Bradley, president and CEO of the Arizona Trucking Association and chairman of TAEC. “We are encouraged by the results, grateful for FMCSA’s partnership and committed to keeping this momentum going.”
TAEC said its progress report highlights enforcement and reform efforts, including:
- Nearly 10,000 CDL schools removed from the federal Training Provider Registry
- 550 fraudulent CDL schools shut down
- $217 million in new federal safety and CDL integrity investments
- 704 investigations of high-risk carriers, with 430 carriers voluntarily ceasing operations and another 60 to 70 shut down
- 3,200 visa revocations tied to cabotage enforcement;
- Audits of all 50 states’ CDL programs and non-domiciled CDL issuance
- More than 194,000 non-domiciled CDLs that will no longer qualify under strengthened federal requirements
- $273 million in highway funding withheld from noncompliant states
- More than 27,000 drivers placed out of service for English-language proficiency violations;
- 76 noncompliant electronic logging device platforms removed from the approved registry and 426 blocked from entering the marketplace
- More than 20 states engaged in legislative action, in addition to states that have strengthened policies and enforcement practices.
Many of these issues have been part of the Trump administration’s efforts to address industry problems.
The original Trucking Resurgence plan focused on seven areas in which bad actors were exploiting weaknesses in existing systems:
- CDL integrity
- federal motor carrier safety data
- cross-border workforce integrity
- non-domiciled CDLs
- English-language proficiency
- trucking fraud
- electronic logging devices
TAEC said many of its plan’s recommendations called for better use of existing authority, stronger verification and more consistent enforcement, rather than imposing new requirements on carriers already operating safely and legally.
Despite the progress, the council said its report emphasizes that sustained enforcement and additional reform remain necessary, according to the council’s statement. It also highlights the need to ensure FMCSA has the staffing, technology and regulatory tools required to oversee millions of regulated entities and identify high-risk operators before they endanger the motoring public.
TAEC has endorsed the FMCSA Modernization Plan developed by the Truckload Carriers Association in collaboration with industry, regulatory and legislative stakeholders.
The Trucking Resurgence Progress Report and the original action plan are available at www.truckingresurgence.com.
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