FMCSA Ends Inspection Reporting Unless Drivers Find Vehicle Defects
This story appears in the Dec. 15 print edition of Transport Topics.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has rescinded a requirement that commercial drivers file inspection reports when there are not any vehicle defects or deficiencies.
The final rule, effective Dec. 18, will eliminate a daily paperwork requirement and save the trucking industry an estimated $1.7 billion annually without compromising safety, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said in a Dec. 9 statement.
“America’s truckers should be able to focus more on getting their goods safely to store shelves, construction sites or wherever they need to be instead of spending countless hours on unnecessary paperwork that costs the industry nearly $2 billion each year,” Foxx said. “This is a far better way to do business.”
The rule eliminates a requirement that drivers file a DVIR at the end of each tour of duty, even if there are no vehicle defects to report. That incorporates about 95% of driver pre- and post-trip inspections, DOT said.
FMCSA estimates that truck drivers spend a combined 46.7 million hours each year completing driver vehicle-inspection reports.
The rule does not change drivers’ obligation to report on the condition of a vehicle, and to report to the motor carrier any defects or deficiencies.
“Flexibility on the DVIR is a very good start,” said Dave Osiecki, chief of national advocacy for American Trucking Associations. “ATA commends FMCSA for taking this reasonable, justified action.”
FMCSA acting Administrator Scott Darling said that until now, truck driver vehicle inspection reports were the 19th-highest paperwork burden across all federal agencies.
“By scrapping the no-defect inspection reports, the burden is reduced to 79th, marking the most significant paperwork- reduction achievement thus far in the Obama administration,” Darling said.
The National Transportation Safety Board and Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety were among the few that opposed the rule, claiming it would lead to drivers’ paying less attention to vehicle maintenance and safety.
“Without requiring some type of documentation, such as the signature of the DVIR, drivers may be less likely to conduct inspections and less likely to detect and document vehicle problems,” NTSB said in written comments last year.
FMCSA disagreed, claiming none of the objectors provided data or information to support their predictions of reduced safety.
“The new rule would not change the requirement for CMV drivers to conduct pre- and post-trip vehicle inspections,” the agency said. “Nor does it change the requirement for CMV drivers to report defects or deficiencies that were found by or reported to them.”
FMCSA pointed out that motor carriers operating in Canada will need to comply with Canadian national, provincial and territorial requirements that require the previous post-trip DVIR.
In June 2012, FMCSA eliminated a comparable requirement for truck drivers operating intermodal equipment trailers used for transporting containerized cargo shipments. The cost savings to the intermodal industry was estimated to be $54 million annually, DOT said.
