ATA continues to back program and won’t support effort
Three organizations representing motor carriers asked a federal appeals court on Tuesday, Nov. 29, to block implementation of the Comprehensive Safety Analysis 2010 initiative or at least to prohibit the public release of certain CSA data until the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration completes a rulemaking on the program that complies with the Administrative Procedures Act. Meanwhile, the largest organization representing trucking companies says it still backs CSA and won’t join the effort.
On Nov. 30, FMCSA told a federal appeals court that it would not be implementing the Safety Measurement System (SMS) before Dec. 12 and, therefore, would not be making public before that date any data three trucking organizations are asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to block.
The groups challenging CSA – National Association of Small Trucking Companies, The Expedite Alliance of North America and the Air & Expedited Motor Carriers Association – filed a motion for emergency stay with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. In their court filing, the three groups said that FMCSA should disclose fully to the industry and public all aspects of its proposed rule, including:
FMCSA should follow the normal rulemaking process by providing an opportunity to comment on its proposal and issuing a decision explaining its final rule, citing to portions of the record that support the rule, the groups said, adding that FMCSA should not be allowed to implement CSA 2010 until it has completed this process. But if the court believes that any part of CSA is exempt from APA’s notice-and-comment provisions, “then at a minimum it should stay the publication of individual carriers’ BASIC scores and ratings until the agency has complied with APA requirements,” the motion states.
In justifying its request for a stay, the associations said that CSA and, especially, the publication of BASIC ratings “will result in irreparable competitive and economic harm to motor carriers and freight brokers” while a delay will cause no harm to the agency or the public because FMCSA has in place a successful safety monitoring and enforcement program.
