Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), DOT.
Notice of changes to operational test.
FMCSA announces two changes to the New Entrant Safety Assurance Program Operational Test (Operational Test) discussed in the Agency's September 4, 2013, notice. First, the Agency will update the IT systems so that when an automatic failure violation (as listed in 49 CFR 385.321) is identified by the Agency based on the records the motor carrier provides during the document submission process, the carrier will automatically fail the new entrant safety audit and be placed into the corrective action process. This is consistent with the current new entrant safety audit process for audits conducted at a motor carrier's principal place of business (PPOB). Second, the Agency will extend the Operational Test through December 2014 to ensure sufficient data is available to calculate the established metrics in order to make an informed decision on any future actions.
The changes take effect September 9, 2014.
You may submit comments bearing the Federal Docket Management System (FDMS) Docket ID FMCSA–2013–0298 using any of the following methods:
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Each submission must include the Agency name and the docket number for this notice. Note that DOT posts all comments received without change to
Mr. Joseph Bennett, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590, telephone: (202) 365–8324, email:
On September 4, 2013, FMCSA published a notice in the
In July 2013, this Operational Test included California, Florida, Illinois, New York, Montana, and the Canadian Provinces contiguous to Montana and New York. In December 2013, the state of Alaska was added to the group of test states.
The purpose of the Operational Test is to compare these off-site new entrant audits to the traditional new entrant safety audits conducted at the motor carriers' PPOB. The Agency is assessing each approach's impact on both resource allocation and subsequent safety performance of new entrant motor carriers.
During the first nine months of the Operational Test, eligible new entrant motor carriers submitted requested documents to a new entrant safety auditor who subsequently reviewed the documentation and:
(1) Prepared a report to document that the motor carrier has passed the new entrant safety audit; or,
(2) Contacted the motor carrier to request additional documentation to determine whether the carrier satisfied the criteria for passing the audit; or
(3) Scheduled a new entrant safety audit at the motor carrier's PPOB, as soon as practicable, based upon violations observed from the submitted documentation or the carrier's failure to submit adequate documentation.
Effective September 9, 2014, if during the examination of the submitted documentation, a safety auditor discovers automatic failure violation(s) as listed in 49 CFR 385.321, the motor carrier will fail the new entrant safety audit. The carrier will be placed into the corrective action process pursuant to 49 CFR 385.319(c) and if the carrier does not provide adequate corrective action it will be prohibited from operating in interstate commerce. FMCSA notes that the definition of “safety audit” under 49 CFR 385.3 does not limit the activity to on-site interventions as is the case with the definition of “compliance review.” Therefore, the Agency has the discretion under existing regulations to fail carriers during the Operational Test without conducting an on-site safety audit.
FMCSA believes this change needs to be made for the following reasons:
• This process is consistent with the current method concerning automatic failure violations for on-site new entrant audits;
• Since the Operational Test began, when automatic failure violations were discovered during the off-site document review process; many of those carriers still failed the follow-up new entrant safety audit conducted at their PPOB; and,
• Allowing a new entrant motor carrier known to be operating with an automatic failure violation(s) can pose a threat to public safety.
In addition, FMCSA is extending the Operational Test through December 2014 to ensure sufficient data is available to calculate the established metrics in order to make an informed decision on any future actions.