The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced on Friday that they’ll be putting together a team of truck drivers to advise the agency in creating regulations for the trucking industry.
The FMCSA says that they’ll be adding a group of 20 — 25 drivers from all sectors of trucking to the panel, including tractor trailer drivers, straight truck drivers, motor coach drivers, hazardous materials drivers, agriculture haulers.
The truck driver panel will be incorporated into the Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee (MCSAC) and will be tasked with providing direct feedback to FMCSA on important issues facing the driving community, like hours of service rules, driver training, and parking.
“The Department of Transportation and this Administration believe in listening to our drivers and hearing their concerns directly. We know that many of the solutions to the challenges we face don’t come from Washington—they come from the hard-working men and women who are behind the wheel all over our nation. This new subcommittee to MCSAC will further help us hear from America’s commercial drivers,” said FMCSA Deputy Administrator Wiley Deck.
In a press release describing the driver panel, the FMCSA said that the upcoming changes to Hours of Service regulations going into effect on September 29 “were based directly off the feedback the Agency heard from commercial drivers regarding the need for increased flexibility and improved safety.”
“Truck drivers and other commercial vehicle operators are American heroes who have stepped up during the current public health emergency to keep our economy moving, so their input is essential to strengthening safety on the roads,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao.