The report also says the department’s rule to require use of speed limiters on heavy trucks and its Safety Fitness Determination rule are now projected to be published as proposed rules in early 2015, according to the report.
Both the speed limiter rule and the insurance increase rule were sent last month to the Office of the Secretary of Transportation. After approval there, they’ll be sent to the White House’s Office of Management and Budget for approval before being sent back to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration for publication.
The insurance rule — which would raise the current $750,000 minimum to an unspecified amount — is expected to be sent to the OMB Sept. 29, the DOT report says, while the speed limiter rule is projected to be sent to the OMB Oct. 9.
The speed limiter rule would require the installation and use of “governors,” or speed limiters, on trucks weighing more than 26,000 pounds. FMCSA has not said what the limited speed would be.
The rule is projected to clear the OMB Jan. 9 and be published Jan. 12, with a 60-day comment period ending March 12.
Likewise, the agency has not said what the new minimum level of liability insurance for carriers would be, but it did say in an April-issued report that if the current minimum, which has been in place since the mid-1980s, had kept up with inflation, it would be $1.62 million.
