Next Year In Washington
Transportation affairs on Capitol Hill next year will be dominated by reauthorization of the federal highway program. This massive bill, the successor to the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, will determine how billions of dollars are spent on the national highway system.
Hearings began earlier this year and will continue through most of next year. The process pits all of the highway organizations -- road builders, trucking companies, labor, safety advocates and federal and state governments, among many others -- in a struggle for control, self-interest and, above all, dollars. The details will unfold as the year progresses.
On the regulatory front, expect several important initiatives from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
• A rule due to take effect Jan. 1, 2003, will require newcomers to interstate trucking to certify that they understand the safety rules and have systems in place to comply with the rules. New entrants also will have to pass a safety audit before they can get permanent registration.
• Next year we will see the full effect of a new commercial driver's license rule that went into effect Sept. 30. It sets higher standards for driver performance, and stiff penalties for failure to comply. Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, for example, will net a one-year disqualification. And that's not just when driving a truck -- it applies no matter what kind of vehicle they're driving.
• It is possible that the agency will open the curtain on the longest-running regulatory act in town -- reform of the hours-of-service rules. Agency officials have been huddling over revisions to the proposal aired two years ago, and sources indicate that a draft is now prepared.
• Also pending is a rule that will require drivers with hazmat endorsements on their CDLs to clear an FBI background check. The rule, ordered by Congress in the wake of last year's terrorist attacks, was expected earlier this year but state licensing departments, the Department of Justice and the Department of Transportation have been slow in getting coordinated.
• Another proposed rule would require companies to ensure that an interstate vehicle has a manufacturer's label certifying that it complies with federal safety standards.
• The safety agency and the Research and Special Programs Administration are working on a rule that could strengthen security in hazmat shipments. Under consideration: escorts, vehicle tracking and monitoring, emergency warning systems, remote engine shut-offs and direct short-range communications.
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