Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/858523
LEADING NEWS, TRUCKING MARKET CONDITIONS AND INDUSTRY ANALYSIS NAS report recommends changes to CSA system N ational Academies of Science researchers issued a congres- sionally mandated report recom- mending that the U.S. Department of Transportation overhaul its Compliance Safety Accountability carrier rating system. The report says DOT needs to make CSA's Safety Measurement System more fair and accurate in assessing motor carriers' safety risk, and that the data used to create the rankings is in need of "immediate attention." Key recommendations from the report, made public June 27, include: • Reconfiguring the SMS statis - tical model – the percentile ranking used to target carriers for intervention – with an "item response theory" (IRT) model that targets at-risk carriers more accurately; • Making the scoring system more transparent and easier for carriers to replicate and under - stand; and • Departing from using relative metrics as the sole means for targeting carriers. – James Jaillet Congress may attempt to alter or delay Dec. 18 ELD mandate A bill was filed in the U.S. House last month to delay the compli- ance date of the federal government's electronic logging device mandate by two years to December 2019. If enacted, carriers would have two additional years to adopt ELDs. Separately, a panel of House law- makers issued a report advising the U.S. Department of Transportation to study whether a "full or targeted delay" of the ELD mandate for small carriers was warranted. The ELD Extension Act of 2017, filed by Rep. Brian Babin (R-Texas), was introduced July 18 and referred to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. The House report on studying an ELD mandate delay was issued a day earlier, July 17, by the 51-member House Appropriations Committee when it stamped approval on legislation that funds DOT through the 2018 fiscal year. The language in both Babin's bill and the House committee report are signs that last-ditch efforts to have Congress derail the mandate in full or in part are gaining traction. The push for congressional action comes after the Owner- Operator Independent Drivers Association's failed attempts to have the man- date overturned in court. Though the DOT funding legislation, if enacted, secures an ELD compli- ance extension for livestock haulers, it does not offer any broader relief from ELD compliance. The legislation also does not include a requirement that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration perform the study on delaying the mandate. Rather, the direction for the study is included only in a corollary report explaining the legislation and the policy reforms it includes. For now, truckers still must begin using ELDs by Dec. 18. The DOT funding legislation cleared the House committee by a 31-20 vote and was sent to the full House for debate and potential amendments. The House legislation also includes a pro- vision exempting carriers from compliance with state-level laws requiring paid meal and rest breaks for drivers, as well as a measure blocking FMCSA from producing a Safety Fitness Determination rulemaking until reforms are made to its Compliance Safety Accountability program. – James Jaillet Scan the QR code with your smartphone or visit ccjdigital.com/ news/subscribe-to- newsletters to sign up for the CCJ Daily Report, a daily e-mail newslet- ter filled with news, analysis, blogs and market condition articles. The House bill also would prohibit states from requiring carriers to pay drivers for meal and rest breaks and nondriving time. commercial carrier journal | august 2017 9