Insights - February 2016 - (Page 2)

Download the Mobile App The Intermodal Insights mobile app is available in the Google Play Store and in the App Store. Download to your mobile device today! Cover image © istock.com Intermodal Insights is published monthly by the Intermodal Association of North America for the benefit of its members. Intermodal Insights is a registered trademark of the Intermodal Association of North America. All rights reserved. Perry Trunick, Editor Send press releases and letters to the editor to insights@intermodal.org. Must be received by the 10th of the month to be considered for inclusion in the next issue. Maggie Miller, Advertising Sales 301-982-3400, ext. 350 advertising@intermodal.org Joanne F. Casey, President & CEO INTERMODAL ASSOCIATION OF NORTH AMERICA 11785 Beltsville Drive, Suite 1100 Calverton, MD 20705-4048 301-982-3400 * Fax: 301-982-4815 www.intermodal.org 2 Intermodal Insights | February 2016 Federal Update FMCSA Proposes Fitness Revisions The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced a rulemaking proposal designed to enhance its ability to identify non-compliant motor carriers. The Safety Fitness Determination Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, published in the Federal Register on Jan. 21, would update FMCSA's safety fitness rating methodology by integrating onroad safety data from inspections, along with the results of carrier investigations and crash reports, to determine a motor carrier's overall safety fitness on a monthly basis. "This update to our methodology will help the agency focus on carriers with a higher crash risk," said FMCSA Acting Administrator Scott Darling. "Carriers that we identify as unfit to operate will be removed from our roadways until they improve." The proposed SFD rule would replace the current three-tier federal rating system of "satisfactory-conditional- unsatisfactory" for federally regulated commercial motor carriers with a single determination of "unfit," which would require the carrier to either improve its operations or cease operations. Once in place, the SFD rule will permit FMCSA to assess the safety fitness of approximately 75,000 companies a month. By comparison, the agency is currently only able to investigate 15,000 motor carriers annually - with less than half of those companies receiving a safety rating. The proposed methodology would determine when a carrier is not fit to operate commercial motor vehicles in or affecting interstate commerce based on: * the carrier's performance in relation to a fixed failure threshold established in the rule for five of the agency's Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASICs); * * investigation results; or a combination of on-road safety data and investigation information. The proposed rule further incorporates rigorous data suﬃciency standards and would require that a significant pattern of non-compliance be documented in order for a carrier to fail a BASIC. When assessing roadside inspection data results, the proposal uses a minimum of 11 "inspections with violations" in a single BASIC within a 24-month period before a motor carrier could be eligible to be identified as "unfit." If a carrier's individual performance meets or exceeds the failure standards in the rule, it would then fail that BASIC. The failure standard will be fixed by the rule. A carrier's status in relation to that fixed measure would not be affected by other carriers' performance. Failure of a BASIC based on either crash data or compliance with drug and alcohol requirements would only occur following a comprehensive investigation. Federal Update - continued on page 17 http://www.istock.com http://www.cushingtrans.com http://www.intermodal.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Insights - February 2016

Insights - February 2016
FMCSA Proposes Fitness Revisions
IANA Announces Expanded Sponsorship Package
IANA’s Chair Discusses Association’s 2016 Priorities
Container Weight Verification a 2016 Reality
Freight Reports
Sustainability News
Caution Urged on California Driver Reclassification
Port News
In Brief
People in the News
Welcome New Members
Intermodal Calendar

Insights - February 2016