Section:
washington view
With the recent Alaska Air and Egypt Air disasters fresh in our minds, the so-called "black boxes" that record flight and cockpit data have been much in the news. These boxes record vital information about the condition of the aircraft and cockpit crews during the last moments of a flight--information that helps unravel the mystery of why an aircraft went down.
If the federal government has its way, the trucking industry will soon be required to install its own version of the "black box" in the cabs of the nation's commercial truck fleet. These boxes would be used for two purposes: to monitor compliance with hours-of-service rules, and to aid in accident reconstruction. That's what National Transportation Safety Board (NSTB) Chairman James Hall wants, and he's lobbying hard to get some kind of legislation requiring their use off the ground this year.
Chairman Hall is not the only one who believes black boxes are needed in trucking. Last December, DOT's Inspector General Kenneth Mead sent a report to Congress recommending the placement of onboard recorders in tracks to track hours-of-service regulations. Such monitoring, he argued, would encourage greater compliance with service rules, which in turn, would contribute to improved safety. DOT is expected to include a requirement for in-cab data recorders in its long-awaited revisions to the driver hours-of-service rules.
The American Trucking Associations (ATA) vehemently opposes the use of electronic recording devices to track drivers' compliance with hours-of-service rules. The ATA argues that mandating black boxes would add costs without producing clear benefits to highway safety. Others worry that the information captured by the devices could be used against a carrier in accident litigation.
At the moment, DOT is pilot testing the use of these devices for monitoring compliance with hours-of-service and other safety regulations. Congress, for its part, is too caught up in election fever to pay much attention to this issue, so chances of any legislative action on the matter this year appear slim. However, black box advocates aren't likely to go away, so look for more debate on this subject.
SAFETY RATINGS
There are a number of other important tracking-related regulatory issues on the 2000 legislative agenda that bear watching. Specifically, this year should bring a final rule from DOT on motor carrier safety fitness ratings. Last year, the agency issued a notice in the Federal Register proposing to define an "unfit" carrier as any carrier with an unsatisfactory safety rating.
Why is this new definition important? Because, it would significantly reduce the threshold at which DOT can shut down a carrier's operations, says Earl Eisenhart, president of Washington lobbying firm Government Relations Services. Particularly troublesome is the fact that--as the new rules are currently written--some carriers could be shut down for what amounts to paperwork violations. Trucking groups will probably work vigorously to change this last provision.
MEDICAL/CDL REQUIREMENTS
The Motor Carrier Safety Improvement Act of 1999, passed by Congress last year, requires DOT to open a rulemaking to incorporate the federal medical qualifications certificate into the commercial drivers license (CDL). This could mean that fleet operators must advise state motor vehicle agencies in the event of any changes to a driver's medical condition. It could also make it more difficult for fleet operators to release an employee from driving responsibilities if the employee develops a disqualifying medical condition.
On a related matter, NTSB's Hall wants to require truck drivers to meet the same medical certification requirements as airline pilots. Airline pilots must undergo a rigorous health exam prior to being certified as fit for duty. Doctors performing examinations must complete a one-week training course to qualify as certified examiners. And, all medical exam and drug test results must be submitted to the Federal Aviation Administration.
Additionally, the NTSB is calling for a ban on the use of certain legal drugs and medications by truck drivers while they are working. The NTSB wants DOT to develop a list of approved medications that can be used safely by drivers.
Clearly, the motor carrier industry and its professional drivers will be the subject of increasing regulatory scrutiny in the coming months. DOT has pledged to do all it can to improve highway safety, and from all indications, will by stepping up trucking enforcement. For those companies that operate their own truck fleet, this makes fleet safety programs more important than ever.
~~~~~~~~