US DOT Announces Pro Trucker Actions

In a recent news conference several days ago announcing various “pro-trucker” actions, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy had this to say about our industry:

“Truckers keep America running. While the country sleeps, truckers grind through the night to help keep shelves stocked, families fed, and businesses humming. It’s a job that requires grit and dedication. But for too long Washington, DC has made work harder for truckers. That ends today. Thanks to President Trump, we’re getting Washington out of your trucks and your business.”

Here are the headlines on three key actions the agency will take:

FMCSA Pivots on DataQ Appeals

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) will apparently scrap plans for a federal appeals process for Requests for Data Review (RDRs) submitted to the agency through its DataQs system.

Instead, the agency will tie state commercial enforcement agencies’ federal funding to improving their DataQ processes. A substantial portion of states’ budgets for commercial truck enforcement and CDL programs comes through FMCSA’s Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP) grant funding.

The move comes in response to comments filed back in 2023 on a proposed federal appeals process for DataQs. Rather than supporting a federal process, many commenters recommended a more impartial review process at the state level than is currently the case in some states. After analyzing these comments, FMCSA determined that the federal-level appeals process it originally proposed “would not sufficiently address the due process issues that currently exist with State-reviewed [DataQs].”

The agency believes basing MCSAP funding on improving “the fundamental fairness" of the DataQs system and "implementing sufficient process guardrails for States" will lead to more timeliness and fairness in the process. FMCSA would require each state to submit a DataQs Implementation Plan that details how it will meet the requirements for each stage of the RDR review process.

ICSA will be filing comments on the proposal and closely monitoring this modified approach to ensuring more timely, impartial processing of DataQ requests, and will keep you informed.

Withdrawal of Proposed Speed Limiter Rule

FMCSA will not pursue a joint rulemaking with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to require speed-limiting devices on heavy-duty trucks.

“This decision respects the professionalism of drivers and acknowledges that the proposed rulemaking lacked a sufficiently clear and compelling safety justification,” said a fact sheet about the proposal.

“And yet we know excess speed kills,” said ICSA Director of Operations Shawn Nelson in explaining why ICSA continues to encourage its members (and all carriers) to voluntarily govern truck speeds.

“When we review high speed alerts from the various camera systems in use by ICSA members, excessive speed and tailgating are the two principal causes of crashes,” Nelson said.

“If carriers are not going to govern their truck speeds, they need to be sure to log in to their camera system and ensure that drivers are not committing the two key factors leading to crashes,” he said.

Testing More Flexibility for Hours of Service

FMCSA also announced it will launch two new pilot programs to study increased flexibility in hours-of-service (HOS) regulations. One will look at more flexible sleeper berth options. Current rules create issues that have beleaguered drivers and fleets for far too long.

Dictating the minimum number of hours and the time(s) of day when a driver must be off duty in the sleeper berth handcuffs flexibility when a driver still feels rested and can remain safe and productive. The pilot proposes to allow participating drivers to split their 10-hour off-duty period into more flexible combinations, potentially including 6/4 and 5/5 splits.

The second pilot will test split-duty periods by allowing participating drivers to “pause their 14-hour on-duty period for a period of no less than 30 minutes and no more than 3 hours.” Such a change, if successful, would allow drivers to rest sooner if they are fatigued rather than wait until they’ve reached the limit of their on-duty and/or driving time.

ICSA is looking into the timetables and requirements for the two pilot programs and will keep you informed.