Graves Chairs Hearing on the Future of Federal Motor Carrier Safety

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Sam Graves, Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Highways and Transit, today led a hearing entitled ‘The Future of Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety: Technology, Safety Initiatives, and the Role of Federal Regulation.' The hearing focused on the development of new technologies that will enhance safety measures across America's highways, as well as efforts to increase efficiency at the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).

"Roadway safety has dramatically improved over the past two decades," Rep. Graves said. "However, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration needs to be focused on how it can use new technologies to build upon these improvements and continue saving lives, not on growing its bureaucracy and adding excessive regulation onto the industry," Rep. Graves continued. "Of particular concern to me is a recent regulatory proposal to raise the minimum levels of liability insurance, potentially by millions of dollars."

"I would like to thank all of the witnesses at today's hearing, and I look forward to debating each of their proposals as this subcommittee works toward long-term reauthorization of the federal highway bill," Rep. Graves said.

Tom Kretsinger, Jr., President of American Central Transport and a resident of Kansas City, Missouri, testified on behalf of the American Trucking Association.

"The trucking industry has an impressive safety record and is near its safest point in history," Mr. Kretsinger said in his testimony. "Continued meaningful improvements will require an acknowledgement of the principal causes of truck crashes and a commitment to making appropriate countermeasures the highest priority. Additionally, understanding the role of driver behavior in crash causation sheds additional light on how FMCSA's use of enforcement funding and resulting activity can be more cost-effective."

BACKGROUND: The FMCSA was established within the U.S. Department of Transportation in 2000, pursuant to the Motor Carrier Safety Improvement Act of 1999. The administration was established to develop strategies that would prevent commercial motor vehicle accidents, fatalities, and injuries.

Since FMCSA's creation, the rate of fatal crashes involving large trucks or buses has fallen from 0.178 per 100 million vehicle miles traveled by all motor vehicles to 0.127 in 2013. The rate reached an all-time low in 2009 when the fatal crash rate declined to 0.108.

However, FMCSA's budget has more than doubled since its first fiscal year of operation, and now stands at $572 million annually. Additionally, over the past few years, the agency has imposed various regulations onto the industry that far exceed what was intended with the Motor Carrier Safety Improvement Act. This includes new hours of service regulations; a controversial Compliance, Safety and Accountability (CSA) program; and, at the direction of Congress, new equipment mandates on both truck and bus operators.

###