Several high-profile crashes involving trucks and large buseshave been in the news recently with severe injuries and horrificdamage. Since 2012, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration(FMCSA) has been tasked with studying the situation andrecommending changes to the financial responsibility requirementsfor each category of carrier. In an April 2014 report to Congress,FMCSA concluded that the current insurance minimums are inadequateto cover the actual costs of some crashes.
|[Related article: DOT Report Calls for Higher Minimum Motor Carrier Limits; MarketImpact Examined]
|In preparation for developing its recommendations, FMCSAannounced on Nov. 28 that it is planning to propose new regulationsthat would increase the minimum levels of financial responsibilityfor motor carriers, including liability coverage for bodily injuryor property damage. The proposed regulations also would establishfinancial responsibility requirements for passenger carrierbrokers; implement financial responsibility requirements forbrokers and freight forwarders; and revise existing rulesconcerning self-insurance and trip insurance.
|The notice contains 26 questions broken out into topic areasthat the FMCSA is seeking information about:
- Premium rates
- Current minimum levels of financial responsibility
- Impacts of increasing the minimum level of insurance
- Compensation
- Information sources
- Timelines
- BMC 84 and 85 filers (trust fund providers)
- Trip insurance, bus brokers and self-insurance
Comments from the public are invited and will be acceptedthrough Feb. 26, 2015. You can submit comments online, by mail, orby hand delivery. The Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking includes directions forhow to submit the commits and the acceptable formats. If you'regoing to comment, FMCSA asks that you provide data in support ofyour responses. By using the online link, you'll also be able tosee other comments that have been submitted.
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Rosalie Donlon
Rosalie Donlon is the editor in chief of ALM's insurance and tax publications, including NU Property & Casualty magazine and NU PropertyCasualty360.com. You can contact her at [email protected].
