Mead Urges Bush to Get FMCSA Into Gear

When Bush-appointed officials settle into their new posts at the Department of Transportation, a top priority should be to improve the effectiveness of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, said DOT Inspector General Kenneth Mead.

Several key trucking issues are left on FMCSA’s table for the new administration to address. They include another try at revising the hours-of-service regulations, commercial driver license reform and deciding how to deal with a North American Free Trade Agreement arbitration panel decision that found that the United States violated the treaty by not allowing Mexican trucks to operate throughout the U.S.

The agency has been “stuck in neutral” since its inception and only “occasionally gets into first gear and that’s about it,” Mead said. He added he would give a full briefing on the need to get FMCSA firing on all cylinders to the Bush administration as soon as possible.

A key to that will be getting a permanent administrator in place. Even in the best of circumstances, Mead said, it is unlikely the incoming president will be able to get an administrator in place before April.

For the full story, see the Jan. 1 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.