US truck safety advocates say Department of Transportation inaction costing lives
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The latest rulemaking agenda published by the Department of Transportation further reveals the Biden administration’s inability to succeed at its mission to reduce crashes, according to truck safety advocates.
FreightWaves reports that in a letter sent this week to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, the Truck Safety Coalition (TSC), which also represents Citizens for Reliable and Safe Highways and Parents Against Tired Truckers, said the groups are “dismayed, disappointed, and deeply disturbed” by high-priority rulemakings that continue to be pushed back on the DOT calendar, in particular the Heavy Vehicle Speed Limiter proposed rule and the Heavy Vehicle Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) final rule.
Combined, the technology that would be deployed in the rulemaking could drastically reduce truck crash fatalities and serious injuries, according to TSC.
Instead, “it is no exaggeration to say DOT has failed to deliver on its stated promises to truck crash victims and survivors,” the group told Buttigieg.
Asked by FreightWaves about the delays, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, which is responsible for issuing the rulemakings, responded that agenda dates published by DOT are estimates.
“The agenda provides public notice and transparency about proposed regulatory and deregulatory actions within the executive branch, but it does not offer definite dates for regulatory and deregulatory actions,” FMCSA stated in an email to FreightWaves.
“There are a number of reasons why the timeline for a particular regulatory or deregulatory action may shift,” it said.
“Some reasons may include additional time for research, analysis, and stakeholder engagement or a number of other factors.”