- The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) primary mission is to prevent commercial motor vehicle-related fatalities and injuries.
- The FMCSA develops testing and licensing standards for commercial motor vehicle drivers.
- The FMSCA collects, analyzes and publishes data on motor carrier safety, and allocates monetary and other resources to improve motor carrier safety.
- The FMCSA conducts a program to improve safety performance of commercial drivers and carriers, and eliminate high-risk drivers and carriers from American highways.
- The FMCSA coordinates research and development of existing and new concepts to improve the safety of motor carrier operations, and commercial motor vehicles and drivers.
- The FMCSA provides the States with financial aid to conduct regular roadside inspections and other State-run commercial motor vehicle safety programs.
The FMCSA, through regulations published in the Federal Register, enforces standards, requirements and penalties relating to the licensing of commercial drivers. The following are a few of the standards that apply to all commercial drivers licensed in the United States, their employers and the States:
- Commercial motor vehicle drivers are prohibited from having more than one commercial motor vehicle driver’s license;
- Drivers are required to notify their current employer and the State where they live of certain criminal convictions;
- Drivers must provide previous employment information when applying for employment as an operator of a commercial vehicle;
- Employers cannot allow a person with a suspended license to operate a commercial motor vehicle;
- States must give knowledge and skills tests to all qualified applicants for commercial drivers’ licenses that meet the federal standard.
The FMCSA maintains the Analysis and Information (A&I) Online website (http://ai.fmcsa.dot.gov/default.aspx); this site provides motor carrier safety information to the FMCSA and State enforcement personnel, as well as to motor carriers, insurers, shippers and the public. The intent of this website is to help promote analytically sound, safety-conscious decision making by those charged with the responsibility to do so. The FMCSA also provides the Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS) Catalog (http://mcmiscatalog.fmcsa.dot.gov/), the Safety and Fitness Electronic Records (SAFER) System (http://safer.fmcsa.dot.gov/) and the Safety Measurement System (SMS) (https://ai.fmcsa.dot.gov/SMS/).
The FMCSA is required to submit yearly reports to Congress regarding its ability to meet the requirement contained in Section 4138 of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users, to conduct compliance reviews on mandatory carriers. As an example, in the fiscal year 2013, the FMCSA identified 5,960 mandatory carriers in the United States. The States conducted 4,601 investigations of mandatory carriers; 976 mandatory carriers went out of business or switched to being intrastate-only carriers, which took away the FMCSA’s jurisdiction. The carryover of mandatory inventory carriers from the fiscal year 2012 left a balance of 3,491 carriers in mandatory status at the end of the fiscal year 2013.
In December 2009, the FMCSA published A Motor Carrier’s Guide to Improving Highway Safety. The Guide is intended to provide educational and technical assistance to motor carriers, and provide basic guidance of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs). The link to the Guide is http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/sites/fmcsa.dot.gov/files/docs/ETA-Final-508c-s.pdf.
The FMCSA provides safety grant funding opportunities to State and local government agencies in one of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Some of the grants available are Commercial Driver License (CDL) Implementation, CMV Operator Safety Training and Safety Data Improvement Program.
Written by:
William J. “Will” Maiberger, Jr.
Watts Guerra LLP
4 Dominion Drive, Bldg 3, Suite 100
San Antonio, Texas 78257
Phone (210) 447-0500
Email wmaiberger@guerrallp.com
* This information is provided to supply information relating to truck and bus crashes, and should not be received as legal advice. Legal advice is only given to persons or entities with whom Watts Guerra LLP has established an attorney-client relationship. If you have a lawyer, you should consult with your own attorney, and rely upon his or her advice, rather than the information contained herein.
© Watts Guerra LLP 2015
