In January, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration published the Safety Fitness Determination (SFD) Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, seeking to revise its safety fitness methodology by “integrating on-road safety data from inspections, along with the results of carrier investigation and crash reports, to determine a motor carrier’s overall safety fitness on a monthly basis,” as reported by HDT magazine.
Trucking groups have voiced criticism over the approach, issuing a letter on April 11 to FMCSA Acting Administrator Scott Darlington, to express its concern over the timing and details of the proposed rule.
The initial comment period for the proposed rule has been extended to May 23 to allow time for all interested parties to participate. In a presentation delivered at the Omnitracs Outlook 2016 user conference in Dallas, TX on February 2, FMCSA Office of Compliance and Enforcement Director Joe DeLorenzo explained the goals around the SFD and advised fleets on how to navigate the comment period. Watch DeLorenzo’s Safety Fitness Determination presentation.