Trucking Safety Administration Is Product of a 15-Year Quest
The year’s hot debate over which government agency should regulate trucking safety – be it the Federal Highway Administration or the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration – was resolved in a way that left the question moot and the motor carrier industry delighted.
Rather than choosing one of the two agencies to permanently house trucking oversight, Congress created a separate Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, dramatically fulfilling a 15-year quest by the industry and its supporters: a national office dedicated to truck and bus safety that would stand within the Department of Transportation on equal footing with the other modal agencies — namely, the Federal Railroad Administration, Federal Aviation Administration and Federal Maritime Administration.
In December, President Clinton signed the enabling legislation to form the agency and quell the debate.
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By elevating motor carrier safety to this level — on par with FHWA and NHSTA rather than buried within them — proponents said oversight of the industry’s unique issues would receive greater attention and, hopefully, more resources.
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For the full story, see the Jan. 10 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.
