Rule Proposal - SFD
It's changing the way trucking companies get rated.
On January 21st, 2016 the FMCSA published an official proposal to change the rules about Motor Carrier safety ratings. The full publication of the Safety Fitness Determination (SFD) can be found here. As of June 23rd 2016 the commenting periods is over. That means that the change can happen in as little as 3 months.
Here's what you need to know:
Although "Conditional" and "Unsatisfactory" ratings are going away, they are really being combined into one rating: "Unfit". An Unfit rating for a trucking company means they have to shut down unless they can convince the FMCSA they improved their safety procedures in a short period of time.
Currently, the only time a trucking company can be rated is after an investigation by a FMCSA official. WIth the SFD rule, a trucking company can be rated automatically by a computer. Yes, failing those BASIC categories by having to many on the road violations is going to shut down trucking companies.
Trucking companies will no longer have a percentile score and be compared to other motor carriers. The SFD establishes a "fixed failure standard" where motor carriers can see how many violations would result in them being proposed unfit automatically.
Keep in mind, those aren't all the changes and of course they are just proposals so they are subject to change at the will of the FMCSA.
Want to learn more? Check out these frequently asked questions answered by the FMCSA.
