The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration wants to create an appeals process for when a motor carrier or driver believes incorrect information was submitted to the agency’s DataQs system.
DataQs is the online system for carriers and drivers to request and track a review of crash or inspection data that the requester believes is incomplete or incorrect.
In a notice that published in the Federal Register on Thursday, Sept. 14, FMCSA proposed creating an opportunity to appeal a state agency’s decision. The public will have 60 days to comment.
The proposal would provide users with a chance to have their requests reviewed by FMCSA if denied by the state agency.
As part of the appeals process, FMCSA said it will include requirements to ensure an independent review of all requests. The outcome of the FMCSA review would be deemed final.
FMCSA said that truck drivers and other industry stakeholders have expressed concerns regarding the transparency and uniformity of requests for data review.
“Stakeholders note that program offices do not have a uniform process for initial requests for data reviews or for handling reconsiderations,” FMCSA wrote. “They have also noted concern that requests for data review reconsiderations are, in many instances, reviewed and decided by the same reviewer as the initial request. Users are calling on FMCSA to ensure an opportunity for an independent review, with consistently applied standards, for data correction requests.”
OOIDA said that truck drivers deserve due process.
“The notice acknowledges the systemic problems with the current DataQs review process,” said Jay Grimes, OOIDA’s director of federal affairs. “In most cases, the review is not objective – a determination is made by the same person or agency who issued the violation, which creates an inherent conflict. We believe any review should provide fairness and due process for truck drivers and motor carriers. It’s unclear if an appeals system administered entirely by FMCSA would accomplish this.”
How to comment
The public will have through Nov. 13 to comment. Comments can be made here or by going to the regulations.gov website and entering Docket No. FMCSA-2023-0190. LL
Related: FMCSA seeks feedback on safety fitness determination
Credit: Source link
