FMCSA Ends Appeals Extensions for ‘Unsafe’ Carriers, Buses

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has ended its practice of granting 10-day extensions to trucking companies that file appeals when they receive orders to cease operations following an unsatisfactory safety rating, an agency spokeswoman said. The ban originally was  directed only at bus operators.

The announcement followed a week after Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said that a bus operator involved in a fatal accident in Virginia was in the midst of a 10-day extension after FMCSA declared it unsafe more than 45 days earlier.

The May 31 crash killed four passengers and injured dozens.

“Following [the] horrific bus crash in Virginia, I have directed the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to end its practice of extending the appeals period for unsafe motor coach companies,” LaHood said in a June 1 statement. “There is no excuse for delay when a bus operator should be put out of service for safety’s sake. On my watch, there will never be another extension granted to a carrier we believe is unsafe.”

Although LaHood’s comments pertained to bus operators, in response to an inquiry by Transport Topics, both the Transportation Department and FMCSA said LaHood’s ban also would include trucking companies.

Under current regulations, any carrier that receives an unsafe rating must cease operations 60 days after its officials receive a formal notification. For bus operators or hazardous materials motor carriers, the grace period is only 45 days.

Prior to last week’s announcement, FMCSA had the discretionary option to extend that grace period by 10 days. A DOT spokesman said that 55 carriers have been ordered out of service since fiscal 2011 began on Oct. 1, but only eight 10-day extensions have been granted.

Annette Sandberg, a former FMCSA administrator, said La-Hood’s decision could backfire and put more pressure on the agency’s four regional service centers that oversee the process and are under strict due-process time frames.

“The secretary obviously doesn’t understand the workload that already is occurring out in the field,” Sandberg, an attorney who represents trucking companies, told TT. “Those service centers and the field offices have extremely heavy caseloads — and particularly under the new CSA program where they’re doing more interventions.”

“It’s unfortunate that the secretary made that blanket, bright-line rule,” Sandberg added.

Often a 10-day extension is needed to give a motor carrier time to prove to the agency that it can correct its deficiencies, said Rob Moseley, a Greenville, S.C., trucking industry attorney.

And sometimes the extra 10 days are needed when FMCSA officials are slow to process appeals while a carrier’s 60-day clock is running, Moseley said.

“Often, when they need that ex-tension, it’s the FMCSA that needs more time to look at it,” Moseley said. “So you’re putting the auditors under the gun.”

If FMCSA does not give a carrier enough time to make its case, it could result in the carrier’s going to the courthouse, Moseley said.