The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has extended by two months, to May 23, the public-comment period for its proposed safety fitness determination rule.
The proposed rule, announced Jan. 15, would use data from agency and roadside inspections and investigations, or both, to evaluate monthly whether a carrier is fit to operate.
The proposed rule would replace the current three-tier federal SafeStat rating system of “satisfactory, conditional or unsatisfactory” for carriers used since 1982 with a single determination of “unfit,” which would require the carrier to either improve or cease operations.
The agency will allow the public an additional 30 days, until June 23, to provide additional comments in response to previously made comments in the record.
A carrier could be judged unfit by failing two or more Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASICs) through inspections or investigation results, or a combination of both, the agency said. Once in place, the rule will permit FMCSA to assess the safety fitness of about 75,000 companies a month using the agency’s Compliance, Safety, Accountability program’s safety measurement system methodology.
FMCSA is only able to investigate 15,000 motor carriers annually, the agency said.
