WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Frank R. Lautenberg, Chairman of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and John D. (Jay) Rockfeller IV, Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee announced today that they introduced the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Enhancement Act, a bill that reauthorizes the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and makes important improvements to federal truck and bus safety standards. 

“We must do more to make sure large trucks and buses are not a threat on our roadways and are only operated by the most qualified drivers,” said Senator Lautenberg. “While most drivers and companies put safety first, crashes still happen, and when they do, the consequences can be devastating.  This bill will give the Department of Transportation the tools to kick unsafe drivers and carriers out of the industry and keep America’s roadways safe.”

“This bill will make significant safety improvements for drivers and passengers on our nation’s highways and roads,” Senator Rockefeller said.  “We need to make sure that only the safest people are allowed to operate large trucks and buses and give the Department of Transportation the tools it needs to improve its oversight of the industry.  I look forward to working with my colleagues as we continue to work to get this important bill enacted into law.” 

The Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Enhancement Act takes critical steps to ensure only the safest motor carriers and drivers are able to enter the industry, improve the safety laws governing current carriers and drivers, and increase FMCSA's enforcement tools to remove unsafe and unfit drivers and carriers from the industry.  Specifically, the bill would:

• Require electronic on-board recorders be used on all trucks and buses used in interstate commerce in order to improve drivers’ compliance with hours of service rules.  Compliance with these rules will improve safety by ensuring truck and bus drivers are obtaining adequate rest;

• Improve the Department of Transportation's (DOT) registration process by requiring an applicant to pass a safety proficiency examination and submission of a safety management plan as a precondition for operating authority;

• Bolster FMCSA’s ability to crack down on “reincarnated carriers” – carriers that attempt to resume operations after being put out of service – by increasing the Administration’s ability to revoke carriers’ operating authority and by requiring new operators to disclose all relationships with other motor carriers over the past five years as a condition of receiving operating authority; and    

• Directs DOT to support FMCSA’s implementation of its Compliance, Safety, and Accountability program, which will increase its oversight of the truck and bus industry and give it the authority to assess the safety fitness of drivers to further identify unsafe drivers.

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