Under FMCSA proposal, drivers would no longer be required to report traffic violations to carriers

This week, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) unveiled a plan to drop a requirement for drivers to submit a list of traffic violations to their employers.

On December 14, the FMCSA issued a Notice of Proposed Rule-Making that is intended to cut down on the administrative burden for both truck drivers and motor carriers by eliminating a record of violations requirement.

From the FMCSA:

FMCSA proposes to eliminate the requirement that drivers operating commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) in interstate commerce prepare and submit a list of their convictions for traffic violations to their employers annually. This requirement is largely duplicative of a separate provision that requires each motor carrier to make an annual inquiry to obtain the motor vehicle record (MVR) for each driver it employs from every State in which the driver holds or has held a CMV operator’s license or permit in the past year. To ensure motor carriers are aware of traffic violations for a driver who is licensed by a foreign authority rather than by a State, that provision would be amended to provide that motor carriers must make an annual inquiry to each driver’s licensing authority where a driver holds or has held a CMV operator’s license or permit. This change would require motor carriers to request the MVR equivalent from Canadian and Mexican driver’s licensing authorities. FMCSA expects that removing the requirement for drivers to provide a list of their convictions for traffic violations to their employers annually would reduce the paperwork burden on drivers and motor carriers without adversely affecting CMV safety.

The FMCSA estimates that eliminating this requirement would result in savings of $28.1 million over 10 years, at a 7% discount rate. The annualized cost savings would be estimated at $4 million.

The FMCSA is accepting public comment on the proposal through February 12, 2021. You can click here to add your comment.