The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration introduced plans to implement a new highway law, which includes 29 new rulemakings within the next 27 months.
According to Heavy Duty Trucking, the requirements in the law, named MAP-21 (Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century), sets an ambitious regulatory agenda for the FMCSA over the next two years.
The 29 new rulemakings do not take into account those already under way.
Included in the provisions are a field study on the 34-hour restart in the hours of service rule, and the electronic logging mandate.
Smaller provisions that nevertheless carry big implications for fleets, include the FMCSA having more authority to levy higher enforcement penalties and declare unsafe carriers as an “imminent hazard.”
In 2013:
The 34-hour restart study is due next September.
On Oct. 1, the electronic logging rule is due and a requirement that states set up standards for how they will automatically notify carriers of drivers’ moving violations and suspensions.
By April 1, 2014, the FMCSA must finish work on a written proficiency exam for those seeking operating authority.
The following October it must complete a national clearinghouse for drug and alcohol test results, as well as a study on raising truck size and weight limits.
