Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

History

The agency was established as a separate administration within U.S. Department of Transportation on January 1, 2000, pursuant to the "Motor Carrier Safety Improvement Act of 1999." FMCSA is headquartered in Washington, D.C. and employs more than 1,000 people in all 50 States and the District of Columbia, all dedicated to improving the safety of commercial motor vehicles (CMV) and saving lives.

Main functions

In carrying out its safety mandate to reduce crashes, injuries, and fatalities involving large trucks and buses, FMCSA:

Leadership

T. F. Scott Darling, III is currently the Acting Administrator of the FMCSA. Darling joined FMCSA in 2012 when he was appointed him to serve as the agency's Chief Counsel. He was elevated to serve as the Acting Administrator (unconfirmed) in 2014 due to the departure of the agency's previous Administrator.

Daphne Jefferson became the Agency’s Deputy Administrator in February 2015 after serving as the Counselor to the Chief of Staff at the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) in the Office of the Secretary (OST).

Organization

The FMCSA is divided into 8 offices:

Field offices

The field organizations deliver program services to FMCSA partners and customers. This organization consists of Field Operations, Service center and State-level motor carrier division offices.

These offices answer questions and provide guidance concerning the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations.

Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA)

CSA is the cornerstone of FMCSA’s compliance and enforcement program. This highly controversial program oversees carriers’ safety performance through roadside inspections and crash investigations, issuing violations when instances of noncompliance with safety regulations are uncovered. The Agency’s safety investigation team and state law enforcement partners are small compared to the millions of CMV companies and commercial driver license (CDL) holders nationwide. A key component of the CSA program – known as the Safety Measurement System (SMS) – relies on data analysis to identify non-compliant and unsafe companies to prioritize them for enforcement interventions.

While the methodology for calculating SMS safety scores has evolved over time in response to suggestions from stakeholders, the program has proven effective at identifying unsafe, high-risk carriers. FMCSA is expected to publicly release additional changes to SMS designed to strengthen the Agency’s ability to identify companies for investigation before they are involved in a crash. The program's future remains in doubt as it has been the subject of heavy criticism from the DOT's own Inspector General, the Government Accountability Office, and Congress itself in the FAST Act. That Act requires the National Research Council of the National Academies of Science (NAS) to conduct a thorough study of the Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) program, specifically the Safety Measurement System (SMS).

Hours of Service (HOS) and Driver Restart Study

In July 2013, FMCSA updated HOS regulation to help reduce the incidence of CMV driver fatigue on the nation’s roadways. The final rule required truck drivers who use the “34-hour restart” provision to maximize their weekly work hours to limit the restart to once a week and to include in the restart period at least two nights off duty from 1:00 to 5:00 a.m., when one’s 24-hour body clock needs and benefits from sleep the most.

In December 2014, Congress passed legislation known commonly as the FAST Act which suspended the new 34-hour restart provision in the HOS rule and instructed FMCSA to conduct a study on its effectiveness. Earlier this year, FMCSA selected Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) to conduct what will be the largest naturalistic study of its kind that the Agency has ever undertaken. The study methodology is now undergoing review by the DOT Office of the Inspector General, and FMCSA anticipates releasing the findings in 2017.

National Registry

Implemented in 2014, the National Registry rule requires all Medical Examiners (ME) who conduct physical examinations and issue medical certifications for interstate CMV drivers to complete training on FMCSA’s physical qualification standards, pass a certification test, and demonstrate competence through periodic training and testing. CMV drivers whose medical certifications expire must use MEs on the National Registry for their examinations.

FMCSA has reached its goal of at least 40,000 certified MEs signing onto the registry, meaning drivers can now find certified medical examiners throughout the country who can competently perform their medical exam. FMCSA is preparing to issue a follow-on “National Registry 2” rulemaking that will require MEs to submit medical certificate information on a daily basis. These daily updates, which FMCSA will transmit to states electronically, will dramatically decrease the chance of drivers falsifying medical cards.

Who is covered by FMCSA regulations

All non-exempt commercial motor vehicles that cross state lines, including big-rig trucks, are subject to the federal motor carrier safety regulations. If these semi-trucks are operating within one state, they need to abide by state-equivalent motor carrier safety regulations. The intent of the regulations is to cover all persons and entities involved in operating commercial vehicles, including:

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) set forth minimum standards for those involved with the operation of commercial motor vehicles in interstate commerce, in order to cover all people and entities involved in interstate operation of these trucks.

Look Before You Book

Overall, buses and motorcoaches are a safe and convenient means of travel. However, disreputable companies and unqualified drivers contribute disproportionately to what are often highly publicized crashes. The Look Before You Book campaign encourages trip planners and passengers to think about more than price and to consider safety first when choosing bus companies and drivers. The program features DOT’s first app – SaferBus – that provides safety data on each bus company under FMCSA’s jurisdiction. The primary audiences for this campaign are travel planners that serve faith-based organizations, seniors and student groups.

Protect Your Move

Of the estimated 35 million Americans who move each year, about 600,000 hire a company to move their household goods across state lines. While most of these movers are legitimate businesses that do professional work, FMCSA receives about 3,000 complaints annually about deceptive practices and fraud by dishonest operators.

The Protect Your Move program aims to protect consumers and counter interstate moving fraud in two ways: 1) by educating consumers who are preparing to move to make informed decisions about moving companies and avoid being taken advantage of by a disreputable mover; and 2) by providing tools and information to victims after moving fraud has occurred to help them resolve mover disputes and/or file fraud complaints and seek arbitration or legal action.

SaferBus

SaferBus provides access to safety records on nearly 6,000 interstate commercial passenger carriers operating in the United States today, which includes privately operated motorcoach, school bus and tour bus companies. Information like this is especially important as more Americans turn to motorcoaches to meet their transportation needs. It is available for free on Android and iOS devices.

QCMobile

QCMobile app allows convenient access to safety performance information for interstate truck and bus companies currently available online. QCMobile is free and available for both Android and iOS devices.