With the arrival 2022 and a new calendar, many of the anticipated federal rulemakings that may impact trucking and highway safety are now sitting just over the horizon.
Congress triggered several of these rulemakings when it passed the “infrastructure bill” that became law in late 2021. Others made their entrance in the Fall 2021 version of the Unified Regulatory Agenda. The advent of 2022 signals a good time to examine when FMCSA may call for public comments and begin gathering meaningful insight and data to help guide the outcomes.
FMCSA publishes the status and projected calendar for federal rulemakings in the Unified Regulatory Agenda. Using the Unified Regulatory Agenda is straightforward, but the processes and procedures of government regulatory agencies are not. So, it is important to recognize that the calendar dates for items listed there are estimates.
Here are anticipated dates for some of the important 2022 trucking-related rulemakings:
Safety fitness revisions — March 2022
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will use this opportunity to solicit information on how the agency may use data and resources more effectively to identify and remove unfit motor carriers. This proposal sits at the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) stage, meaning that the proposed regulatory language is not complete. The Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) program will be on the table, suggesting that the rulemaking may determine the fate of its Item Response Theory (IRT) model. FMCSA may also examine whether all CSA scores should be made public.
CDL testing revisions — March 2022
FMCSA will issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) – actual proposed regulatory language – to determine whether states should be able to administer the commercial driver’s license (CDL) test prior to issuing a commercial learner’s permit (CLP). It will also determine whether the CDL skills test can be given to CLP holders from other states.
Automatic emergency braking (AEB) for trucks — April 2022
The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration will seek comments on requiring and standardizing AEB for heavy trucks, while FMCSA will want comments on the maintenance and operation of AEB by motor carriers. This is expected to be an ANPRM.
ELD revisions — April 2022
In another ANPRM, FMCSA will seek “lessons learned” by users and enforcers of electronic logging device regulations in an effort to clarify and streamline regulatory text. On the policy side, expect that time or mileage limits on the use of the ELD “personal conveyance” mode to be discussed.
Unique Electronic Identification — June 2022
Should all commercial motor vehicles be equipped with an electronic device that uniquely identifies them to roadside law enforcement? What information would be communicated? How would carrier and driver privacy be protected? How would enforcement take place? These are some of the questions this FMCSA ANPRM will consider.
Two final rules are anticipated in 2022:
Driver vision standards — February 2022.
FMCSA proposes to reduce the burden on drivers with monocular vision.
Third party CDL testers — July 2022
FMCSA proposes to eliminate the restriction that prevents a third-party skills examiner from administering a CDL test to a student they have provided skills training to.
Meanwhile, we await definitive word on how the U.S. Department of Transportation proposes to adopt working standards for using oral fluids in testing for illegal drugs. FMCSA lists this NPRM is as November 2021 but it has yet to appear. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration of the Department of Health and Human Services have already issued the technical standards but the Transportation Department now must address implementation.
