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FMCSA Moves to Strike Obsolete Trucking Rules
Agency Says Deregulatory Effort Cuts Costs and Paperwork Without Affecting Safety
Key Takeaways:
- FMCSA is removing outdated trucking regulations to reduce compliance costs and paperwork without affecting safety.
- The agency said eliminating obsolete rules could save millions annually and reduce unnecessary violations.
- Recent changes include updates to equipment requirements and removal of outdated provisions such as liquid-burning flares.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is removing obsolete rules from its trucking regulations, aiming to reduce compliance costs and paperwork without affecting safety.
FMCSA predicted last year that eliminating obsolete verbiage would “save the motor carrier industry millions annually.” Burdensome trucking regulations in 2024 led to “nearly 25,000 unnecessary violations,” the agency said.
In May, deregulation was highlighted by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and reinforced by FMCSA Administrator Derek Barrs as a hallmark of their leadership. Their joint remarks were contained in a list of first-year trucking industry achievements under the Trump administration.
Barrs noted, “I’ve spent my life looking out for the folks on our highways, and I’m telling you, these drivers are the heartbeat of this country. This administration is finally giving our truckers the support they’ve earned to get the job done and get home safe to their families.”
FMCSA remains committed to a proposal to eliminate more than 1,800 words of federal regulations.
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Barrs
In February 2025, the agency issued a proposed rule called “Ensuring Lawful Regulation; Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs.”
FMCSA received nearly 1,000 public comments as it sought to revamp or repeal regulations, guidance and required paperwork “to ensure that DOT administrative actions do not undermine the national interest and that DOT achieves meaningful burden reduction while continuing to meet statutory obligations and ensure the safety of the U.S. transportation system.”
This year, FMCSA acted on a variety of regulations to streamline operations for truckers. A series of final rules that took effect March 23 was said to have no impact on safety.
Rear Impact Protection Guards
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations were amended to remove the requirement that rear impact guards be permanently marked or labeled with a certification from the impact guard manufacturer. In the past, motor carriers purchasing new trailers or new impact guards to replace damaged devices were supposed to mark or label them to verify they met the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard.
FMCSA stated that the requirement caused problems since the labels or markings became illegible or wore off during the service life of the trailer or guard.
The final rule removed “an unintended regulatory burden on motor carriers without compromising safety, as it does not affect the applicable FMVSS” while also withdrawing a guidance document about illegible, incomplete or missing rear impact guard certification labels, the agency noted.
Exception for Portable Conveyors
The agency added an exception for portable conveyors made before 2010 for use in the aggregate industry. It removed a mandate for each of these older commercial motor vehicles to have brakes acting on all wheels if certain conditions are met.
Auxiliary Fuel Tanks
FMCSA amended its fuel tank rules to allow an exception to the ban on gravity and siphon feeds for auxiliary pumps with a capacity of 5 gallons or less, provided they are mounted on a trailer and used only when the vehicle is not in motion.
License Plate Lamps
FMCSRs add an exception from lamp and reflective device requirements for license plate lamps on the rear of truck tractors while towing a trailer. The amendment removed an unnecessary regulatory requirement for truck owners who would have otherwise retrofitted their truck tractors with rear license plate lamps when towing a trailer.
Liquid-Burning Flares
References to liquid-burning flares were eliminated from warning device requirements for commercial motor vehicle emergency equipment. These were seen as outdated references to warning devices no longer used.
Fuel Tank Overfill Restriction
FMCSRs no longer require a liquid fuel tank manufactured on or after Jan. 1, 1973, to be designed or built to prevent being filled in a normal filling operation with fuel exceeding 95% of a tank’s liquid capacity. This requirement was deemed outdated.
‘Water Carriers’ References
Obsolete references to “water carriers” in the FMCSR for hotel-related passenger transportation were removed because FMCSA does not specifically regulate water carriers unless they also engage in motor carrier operations.
