The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) today announced it has published a final rule to reduce regulatory costs by $74 million per year by removing an information collection burden for commercial buses and other passenger-carrying motorcoaches. This measure will strengthen the industry without adversely impacting safety on the nation’s roadways.
“This rule will remove outdated and overly burdensome reporting requirements on commercial buses that don’t contribute to improving safety” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao.
As part of the agency’s ongoing effort to review existing regulations to evaluate their continued necessity and effectiveness, FMCSA is rescinding the requirement that drivers of commercial buses submit – and their motor carriers retain – driver-vehicle inspection reports (DVIRs) when the driver has neither found nor been made aware of any vehicle defects or deficiencies.
“This straightforward rule is reflective of the agency and Department’s approach to reducing unneeded regulatory costs, while ensuring safety. Eliminating regulatory burdens and saving commercial drivers valuable time is helpful to support the commercial bus industry – especially during our nation’s economic recovery. The bus industry plays a critical role in connecting our nation’s people and communities, and this commonsense rule change will make a difference for commercial bus companies around the country,” said FMCSA Deputy Administrator Jim Mullen.
Current regulations require commercial bus drivers to submit DVIRs even if there are no vehicle defects to report. The new rule will eliminate the need for a driver to file, and a motor carrier to maintain, a no-defect DVIR.
The agency estimates that passenger-carrying commercial motor vehicle drivers spend approximately 2.4 million hours each year completing no-defect DVIRs, and that this rule would result in a cost savings of $74 million per year to the industry.
FMCSA has focused on reducing regulatory burdens without impacting safety. In May, the agency published a final rule on hours of service regulations that will save the motor carrier industry an estimated $273 million per year.
Additionally, in March 2019, the agency authored a final rule streamlining the process and reducing costs to upgrade from a Class B to Class A commercial driver’s license (CDL) – a deregulatory action that will save eligible driver trainees and motor carriers $18 million annually.
FMCSA’s final rule removing the DVIRs can be viewed by visiting: https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/safety/driver-safety/passenger-carrier-no-defect-driver-vehicle-inspection-reports