The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration published final rules to remove 12 regulations deemed “burdensome" and "that do not enhance safety."
The proposals followed an announcement last year of 18 proposals to either remove or amend regulations and an open comment period collecting feedback from industry stakeholders who identified numerous areas of potential priority.
The effort falls in line with executive orders from President Donald Trump calling for deregulatory action.
Among the final rules published in the Federal Register Thursday are five regulations being rescinded and seven amended. The five regulations removed:
- Spare fuses: Removes the requirement for commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) to be equipped with at least one spare fuse for each type and size of fuse needed for the operation of the vehicle. The change takes effect April 20.
- Certification and labeling requirements for rear impact protection guards: Removes the requirement in the motor carrier regulations that the rear impact guard be permanently marked or labeled with a certification from the impact guard manufacturer, as required by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS). FMCSA said this eliminates an unintended regulatory burden on motor carriers without compromising safety, as it does not affect the applicable FMVSS. The final rule also rescinds a guidance document pertaining to illegible, incomplete, or missing rear impact guard certification labels. This change takes effect March 23.
- Liquid-burning flares: Removes the references to liquid-burning flares from the warning device requirements in the FMCSRs, due to the devices no longer being used. This removal takes effect March 23.
- Removal of obsolete references to “water carriers”: FMCSA does not specifically regulate water carriers except to the extent that such carriers also engage in motor carrier operations. In such cases, the existing FMCSRs provide appropriate coverage of the carrier’s operations. This change is effective March 23.
- Vision standards grandfathering provision: Removed the grandfathering provision under the physical qualifications standards for interstate drivers operating under the previously administered vision waiver study program. FMCSA’s current rules permit individuals who do not satisfy, with the worse eye, either the existing distant visual acuity standard with corrective lenses or the field of vision standard, or both, to be physically qualified to operate a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) in interstate commerce under specified conditions. This change takes effect March 23.
Additionally, seven regulations have been amended or clarified:
- Electronic Driver Vehicle Inspection Reports (DVIR): FMCSA finalized a clarification related to the requirement to complete a DVIR based on a public comment filed by the National Tank Truck Carriers (NTTC). While DVIRs can already be completed electronically, the final rule adds explicit language to the regulations to make that clear. FMCSA said this will “encourage motor carriers and drivers to utilize electronic, cost-saving methods when completing DVIRs.” This amendment takes effect March 23.
- Fuel tank overfill protection: In response to a Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance petition for rulemaking, FMCSA is removing the requirement in the motor carrier regs that a liquid fuel tank manufactured on or after January 1, 1973, be designed and constructed so that it cannot be filled, in a normal filling operation, with a quantity of fuel that exceeds 95% of the tank’s liquid capacity. FMCSA said the regulation is an “unnecessary and outdated requirement.” This change is effective March 23.
- CDL standards; Requirements and penalties -- Applicability to the exception for certain military personnel: This amendment allows dual-status military technicians to qualify for the exception for certain military personnel from CDL standards. Dual-status military technicians are civilian technicians employed by military units to provide day-to-day support such as training, maintenance, and other activities required to support the unit. They are required by statute to maintain membership in one of the Army or Air Force Reserve Components as a condition of their civilian employment. This change takes effect March 23.
- Brakes on portable conveyors: FMCSA is adding an exception for portable conveyors used in aggregate industry operations and manufactured before 2010 from the requirements that each CMV be equipped with brakes acting on all wheels, provided certain conditions are satisfied. This change responds to a petition for rulemaking from the Michigan Aggregates Association (MAA), which stated that, prior to 2010, portable conveyors were not manufactured with brakes because the drum brakes used at the time would trap sand, rocks and other materials found in aggregate pits, which would render the brakes useless. This change is effective March 23.
- Auxiliary fuel tanks: FMCSA is adding an exception to the prohibition on gravity and syphon feeds for auxiliary pumps with a fuel tank capacity of less than five gallons mounted on the trailer chassis frame or trailer bed, for purposes other than operation of the motor vehicle (operational only when the vehicle is not in motion). The change responds to a petition for rulemaking from the Truck Trailer Manufacturers Association (TTMA), which said carriers were modifying their trailers in some cases to accommodate a gasoline-powered auxiliary pump for use other than powering the CMVs. To comply with the prohibition on gravity or syphon feeds, carriers often modify the trailer by installing a fuel tank with a fuel pump along with associated top mountings and fuel lines separately to operate the auxiliary pump, the group said. TTMA expressed concern regarding the structural integrity of the fuel tank attachments and the prohibitive costs associated with making such modifications for the sole purpose of compliance. The amendment is effective March 23.
- License plate lamps: This amendment adds an exception from the lamp and reflective device requirements for license plate lamps on the rear of truck tractors while towing a trailer. The change removes an unnecessary regulatory requirement without impacting safety, FMCSA said. It takes effect March 23.
- Tire load markings: FMCSA is amending the requirements for CMV tires, clarifying that the FMCSRs do not require tire load restriction markings on the sidewalls of the tires, eliminating confusion and clarifying the scope of FMCSA's authority regarding requirements for CMV tires, the agency said. FMCSA noted that regulated entities have mistakenly believed that 393.75(g) and (h) require sidewall markings, and that markings missing from the sidewall would be a violation of those requirements. These provisions actually require that motor vehicles and manufactured homes are not operated with a weight in excess of the load limits on the sidewalls of the tires, or, for manufactured homes built before January 1, 2002, with a weight more than 18% over the load limits.
[Related: FMCSA, other agencies update timelines for bevy of in-progress regs]
