The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is seeking public comment on the potential development of a program that would take into consideration a motor carrier’s “proactive voluntary implementation of state-of-the-art best practices and technologies” when evaluating the company’s safety program.
Dubbed “Beyond Compliance,” the nascent initiative would include voluntary programs implemented by motor carriers that exceed regulatory requirements and result in the improved safety of commercial motor vehicles and drivers as determined by reducing the number and severity of crashes, Heavy Duty Trucking reports.
FMCSA stated that if Beyond Compliance moves forward, it “would not result in regulatory relief.”
Explaining the rationale for the program, FMCSA cited among several research inputs over the past 10 years what it heard during the six listening sessions it conducted when formulating the Compliance, Safety, Accountable program.
In those sessions, said the agency it was “agreed that an incentive-based approach to improving carrier safety would be a more effective tool than the current penalty-based system.”
In its notice requesting public comment on the proposed program in the Federal Register for April 23, FMCSA said it is seeking responses to specific questions and any supporting data the agency should consider regarding the potential development of the program.
FMCSA would like responses to the following specific questions as well as the submission of any other reports or data on this issue,
The 60-day comment period ends on June 22.
