Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration December 16, 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

FMCSA announces its decision to renew the exemptions from the vision requirement in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations for 13 individuals. FMCSA has statutory authority to exempt individuals from the vision requirement if the exemptions granted will not compromise safety. The Agency has concluded that granting these exemption renewals will provide a level of safety that is equivalent to, or greater than, the level of safety maintained without the exemptions for these commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers.

FMCSA amends the New Entrant Safety Assurance Program regulations to raise the standard of compliance for passing the new entrant safety audit. The Agency identifies 16 regulations that are essential elements of basic safety management controls necessary to operate in interstate commerce and makes a carrier's failure to comply with any one of the 16 regulations an automatic failure of the safety audit. Additionally, if certain violations are discovered during a roadside inspection, the new entrant now will be subject to expedited actions to correct these deficiencies. The Agency now will also check compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and certain household goods-related requirements in the new entrant safety audit, if they apply to the new entrant's operation. Failure to comply with either of these requirements will not affect the outcome of the safety audit; however, the Agency will take appropriate actions to improve compliance. FMCSA clarifies changes to some of the existing new entrant regulations and establishes a separate new entrant application procedure and safety oversight program for non-North America-domiciled motor carriers. Finally, the Agency has enhanced the quality and availability of its educational and technical assistance (ETA) materials to ensure applicants are knowledgeable about applicable Federal motor carrier safety standards. Because the Agency believes Form MCS-150ASafety Certification for Application for USDOT Number is not an effective instrument for establishing knowledgeability, it is eliminating that form. FMCSA believes this rule will improve the Agency's ability to identify at-risk new entrant carriers and ensure deficiencies in basic safety management controls are corrected before the new entrant is granted permanent registration. These changes do not impose additional regulatory requirements on any new entrant carrier because these carriers are already required to comply with all applicable rules.