“Technical” but significant rule changes may affect you
The FMCSA has made a series of what it calls “technical corrections” to its safety regulations. Despite the innocuous label, the changes will affect most motor carriers in one way or another.
Among the revisions:
- A new medical exam form, and
- Changes to the FMCSA’s authority to perform off-site audits.
The agency also cleaned up many rules, making minor revisions throughout the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations.
Most changes went into effect on the day they were published, July 7, 2021.
New “long form”
Changes to the Medical Examination Report Form were put on hold for 60 days, until September 7, 2021. That’s when medical examiners were required to begin using a revised version of the form for all driver exams. The new version includes a variety of minor technical changes, the most significant of which is removal of the driver’s gender from Section 1.
The updated form retained the “OMB expiration date” of 11/30/2021 in the upper-right corner. This means the form will need to be updated yet again before the end of November this year, to include a new date from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
Make sure your medical examiners are using the current form and watch for news about yet another version coming later this year. Note that the Medical Examiner’s Certificate will also be receiving a new OMB expiration date this year.
Small word, big impact
Another change (a “minor procedural adjustment,” the FMCSA said) involved the removal of a single word from a definition, but the impact could be big.
Specifically, the agency deleted the word “on-site” from the definition of compliance review. A compliance review is the most intense type of FMCSA audit, and it results in a safety rating for the carrier under review. Until now, such audits had to be conducted “on site” at a motor carrier’s facility.
The definition change means the audits can be conducted remotely, with the auditor never setting foot in the motor carrier’s facility. The concept isn’t new, however; the FMCSA has been doing off-site reviews for over a year on an emergency basis due to the pandemic. The rule change means such audits can continue even after the emergency ends.
Motor carriers can prepare for an off-site audit by making sure they have an account on the FMCSA Portal (portal.fmcsa.dot.gov) and keeping their files organized and electronic, so they’re ready to upload to an auditor. (The FMCSA generally gives at least 48 hours’ notice before documents must be provided.)
Key to remember
The FMCSA has made a variety of rule changes, including the adoption of a revised medical exam form and an expansion of off-site auditing. Make sure your medical examiners are using the right form.