WASHINGTON — The latest rulemaking agenda published by the Department of Transportation further reveals the Biden administration’s inability to succeed at its mission to reduce crashes, according to truck safety advocates.
In a letter sent this week to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, the Truck Safety Coalition (TSC), which also represents Citizens for Reliable and Safe Highways and Parents Against Tired Truckers, said the groups are “dismayed, disappointed, and deeply disturbed” by high-priority rulemakings that continue to be pushed back on the DOT calendar, in particular the Heavy Vehicle Speed Limiter proposed rule and the Heavy Vehicle Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) final rule.
Combined, the technology that would be deployed in the rulemaking could drastically reduce truck crash fatalities and serious injuries, according to TSC.
Instead, “it is no exaggeration to say DOT has failed to deliver on its stated promises to truck crash victims and survivors,” the group told Buttigieg.
“Sympathy is quick to be extended yet results remain elusive. DOT felt no obligation to provide a statement explaining these failures, leaving victims and survivors to speculate as to the reasons, but left little doubt that the Department feels no semblance of accountability to this class of stakeholders.
FMCSA: More research time needed?
Asked by FreightWaves about the delays, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, which is responsible for issuing the rulemakings, responded that agenda dates published by DOT are estimates.
“The agenda provides public notice and transparency about proposed regulatory and deregulatory actions within the executive branch, but it does not offer definite dates for regulatory and deregulatory actions,” FMCSA stated in an email.
“There are a number of reasons why the timeline for a particular regulatory or deregulatory action may shift. Some reasons may include additional time for research, analysis, and stakeholder engagement or a number of other factors.”
TSC: Deadly crash preventable
TSC told Buttigieg that the consequences for extending the timelines can be more deaths. A rule ensuring new drivers are knowledgeable about safety requirements, which has been in the works for ten years, could have helped prevent a deadly six-vehicle crash in June.
TSC pointed out that in addition, the trucking company involved in that crash failed to log into FMCSA’s Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse to check the status of its drivers.
“Despite consistently being told that safety is the highest priority at FMCSA, the fact that carriers who never log into a federally required system are allowed to operate unabated, potentially placing drug users behind rigs for years on end, says otherwise,” the organization stated. “It defies comprehension that this is permitted to happen and prompts one to wonder if FMCSA enforcement staff thinks or cares to check.
“It is not hyperbole to say that more lives will be lost, and families forever destroyed by further delay.”