Recently, three top FMCSA officials--Administrator Ray Martinez, Chief Counsel Jim Mullen and Chief Safety Officer Jack Van Steenburg--attended the American Trucking Associations’ annual management conference and each spoke at separate meetings during the event. Their respective remarks touched on a range of current issues, and below are top takeaways, summarized and paraphrased by ST

1. Serious Concern Over Regulatory Patchwork of State Meal & Rest Break Laws – Deep concern was expressed about a potential patchwork of State laws requiring meal breaks and rest breaks by drivers that might conflict with the required rest break in the federal hours of service rules;
2. Accelerated Hours of Service Rulemaking Process - FMCSA’s Hours of Service rulemaking is on an ‘accelerated timeline,’ with a likely completion date of the end of 2019);
3. No Extension of Full ELD Compliance Date - There will be no extension of the December 2019 full ELD compliance date for currently grandfathered AOBRD carriers to migrate to ELDs;
4. CSA & Crash Accountability Programs Speak to FMCSA’s Credibility – It’s very important for FMCSA to ‘get these programs right’…they are a ‘credibility issue for FMCSA’;
5. Under 21 Drivers, An Area Worth Exploring – An idea worth exploring, with ‘appropriate boundaries’ and ‘hopefully to improve safety.’