On September 18th (Friday) FMCSA announced they’ll be creating advisory panel of drivers. A team of truck drivers will advise the agency in creating regulations for the trucking industry. The panel will provide direct feedback to the FMCSA. For Instance, issues facing the driving community such as safety, hours of service regulations, training, parking, and driver experience.
According to a statement from the agency, they’ll be adding a group of 20-25 people from all sectors of trucking to the panel. Including tractor trailer drivers, straight truck drivers, motor coach drivers, hazardous materials drivers, agriculture haulers.
FMCSA said :“The Department of Transportation and this Administration believe in listening to our drivers and hearing their concerns directly. We know that many of the solutions to the challenges we face don’t come from Washington. They come from the hard-working men and women who are behind the wheel all over our nation. This new subcommittee to MCSAC will further help us hear from America’s commercial drivers.”
The new driver panel goal is to capture what it called “the wide array of viewpoints and experiences within the driving community.”
FMCSA held up this year’s final rule on revised HOS regulations as an example of how it is formulating regulations based directly off feedback from commercial drivers seeking more flexibility in how they operate on the road.
“Truck drivers and other commercial vehicle operators are American heroes who have stepped up during the current public health emergency to keep our economy moving, so their input is essential to strengthening safety on the roads,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao.
Details of when and how the advisory panel of drivers will be created are yet to be worked out. According to an agency spokesperson. It also remains unclear who will make the driver selections. By what criteria they will be selected, and how long they will serve once selected.
For more information about the Committee , please click here