U.S. Department of Transportation
Office of Public Affairs
Washington, DC
www.dot.gov/affairs/briefing.htm
EDITORS AND CORRESPONDENTS To reduce truck crashes, the Federal Highway Administration's Office of Motor Carriers
(OMC) continues to vigorously enforce carrier safety regulations,
conduct compliance reviews, and help " high risk" carriers improve their
safety performance. Later this year, the OMC will ask its many partners in highway
safety and the public for advice in developing a new
performance-based motor carrier safety fitness rating
process--one based on richer data and better forms of
analysis--to help us identify carriers that pose the greatest
safety risk. Today we are publishing two documents in the
Federal
Register
to bring the safety fitness rating methodology into
conformance with a recent Federal court ruling until our new
performance-based rating methodology can be fully developed. A notice of proposed rulemaking sets forth a specific rating
methodology for determining whether carriers meet initial and
continuing safety fitness requirements. An interim final rule
applies the current safety fitness rating (the methodology in use
at the time of court's
ruling) to hazardous materials carriers and passenger carriers
until official adoption of the methodology in the proposed rule.
Both rulemaking actions include requests for comment. In March, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of
Columbia Circuit held that the FHWA did not comply with a
provision of the Motor Carrier Safety Act of 1984 which directed
the Agency to give opportunity for notice and comment before
establishing "specific
initial and continuing requirements" motor carriers must
meet to prove safety fitness. The court did not find a flaw in
the rating methodology, only in the procedures by which it was
adopted. As of the effective date of the interim final rule, the OMC
will issue safety ratings to certain hazardous materials and
passenger carriers. No other safety ratings will be issued until
completion of the proposed rulemaking action. Further information is available from Paul Brennan
(202-366-1790) or Clinton Magby (202-366-2952) of the Office of
Motor Carriers. Sincerely yours, George L. Reagle
Associate Administrator for Motor Carriers Last updated on May 28,
1997
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