FMCSA eliminates rule requiring truck drivers to submit list of traffic violations to employers

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has issued a new rule that will eliminate a traffic violation reporting requirement that many truck drivers found to be “redundant” and “time consuming.”

In a Final Rule to be published in the Federal Register on March 9, the FMCSA will amend current regulations 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.

The Final Rule will go into effect 60 days after publication in the Federal Register on May 9, 2022.

The FMCSA notes that the requirement is “largely duplicative” since motor carriers are required to annually obtain motor vehicle records for drivers they employ in the states where those drivers are licensed.

For cross-border truckers licensed in Canada or Mexico, “the Agency amends the rule 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.”

The FMCSA projects that eliminating the rule will result in cost savings of $24.9 million over 10 years for both drivers and motor carriers.

The agency also says that eliminating this requirement will cut down on duplicate paperwork without negatively impacting CMV safety.

The FMCSA announced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to eliminate the traffic violation list rule in December 14, 2020, and received nearly 100 public comments.

Many of the comments were in favor of eliminating the requirement because “it is redundant, time consuming, does nothing to improve safety, is unreliable, takes time away from measures that could improve safety, is merely a recordkeeping “paper chase,” and is outdated,” according to the FMCSA.