WASHINGTON — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) will no longer require commercial drivers to provide previous traffic violations to their employers on an annual basis.
The new rule will take effect on May 9.
According to an FMCSA filing with the Federal Register, the rule was “duplicative of a separate rule that requires each motor carrier to make an annual inquiry to obtain the motor vehicle record for each driver it employs from every state in which the driver holds or has held a CMV (commercial motor vehicle) operator’s license or permit in the past year.”
Eliminating this requirement will save drivers and carriers money, the FMCSA filing states, because “they will no longer spend time completing a list of convictions for traffic violations or certificate of no convictions. It also results in cost savings to motor carriers, as they no longer have to file the lists or certificates in driver qualification files.”
The FMCSA says that the resulting cost savings will amount to almost $25 million over 10 years, at a 7% discount rate. The annual cost savings are estimated to be $3.5 million.
The FMCSA is also amending the rule for drivers licensed in Mexico or Canada “to provide that motor carriers must make an annual inquiry to each driver’s licensing authority where a driver holds or has held a CMV operator’s license or permit.”
The FMCSA will require that drivers report any active driver’s licenses, along with the issuing authorities, on their employment applications.
Around 80% of those commenting supported the rule, including the American Trucking Associations, the Truckload Carriers Association, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, and the Tennessee Trucking Association.
The Trucker News Staff produces engaging content for not only TheTrucker.com, but also The Trucker Newspaper, which has been serving the trucking industry for more than 30 years. With a focus on drivers, the Trucker News Staff aims to provide relevant, objective content pertaining to the trucking segment of the transportation industry. The Trucker News Staff is based in Little Rock, Arkansas.
