CVSA Conference 2024: Safety Professionals Meet in Montana

ICSA has been a member of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) since we were chartered so that we can represent the interests of our small carrier members and bring back information about truck enforcement and regulatory trends that might be valuable to you. We were privileged to attend CVSA’s 2024 Conference in Montana and among the things that we learned are:

Vinn White, Deputy Administrator of the FMCSA, reiterated the federal government’s position that “No loss of life is acceptable” and the efforts to achieve the goal of zero fatalities. While the government has statistics on deaths and injuries on the highway, no statistic can measure the number of lives saved by safe operations. In order to achieve this goal, the federal government priorities include:

1. 1. Detention time
   2. Driver compensation
   3. Challenges faced by women in trucking
   4. Bad leasing agreements
   5. ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance System) technology, including AEB (Automatic Emergency Braking)
   6. Reducing truck speeds, including the speed limiter rule working its way through the process
   7. Increasing the use and efficiency of the drug and alcohol clearinghouse
   8. The new ID verification process using the same facial recognition technology in use at airports

We also learned that the DataQ process is under review from the bottom up. If the plan goes into effect, there will be no more distinction between factual disputes and regulatory interpretation. Each state will have an implementation plan approved by the federal government, but the federal government will not be involved in the states’ DataQ review processes. In addition, the officer reviewing a DataQ cannot be the inspector or the inspector’s supervisor.

CVSA also supports allowing carriers to use drug testing other than urine tests and adding such testing records to the Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse. ICSA, of course, supports hair drug testing and requires its members to perform hair testing on all drivers.

CVSA also recommends that all carriers adopt the North American Fatigue Management Program. Please review ICSA’s Model Safety Plan for fatigue management strategies.

In order to assist in combatting human trafficking, CVSA is proposing that the FMCSA require that a commercial driver have a letter authorizing any non-employee passengers.

We look forward to passing along any feedback that our members may have on any of the above. Please send any comments you may have to contact@safecarriers.org.