U.S. Reps. Garret Graves (R-LA) and Sharice Davids (D-KS) said Wednesday they had introduced legislation to expand access to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Pre-employment Screening Program as a way to increase safety and address supply chain shortfalls.
The Motor Carrier Safety Screening Modernization Act (H.R. 3356) would alter existing legislation and allow companies to access safety records on an ongoing basis, a move they say would allow motor carriers to increase their culture of safety.
“The Pre-Employment Screening Program has proven to keep our truck drivers safe as they move goods across the country. This legislation gives motor carriers additional information to expand their training practices and reduce future roadway crashes, all while improving the efficiency of our domestic supply chain,” Davids said.
Last year, in an update to its Predicting Truck Crash Involvement research, the American Transportation Research Institute found a statistical relationship between driver safety behaviors and future crash probability. Providing carriers with access to pre-employment safety screening records at any time, the organization said, would allow them to be proactive in identifying safety issues and to effect positive behavioral changes in drivers.
However, current law prohibits motor carriers from accessing the data after a pre-hire review of that driver’s safety record. Graves and Davids legislation would change existing regulations and all motor carriers to make more frequent driver safety record reviews.
The legislation is supported by the American Trucking Associations, Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, Driver Employer Council of America, National Safety Council, Specialized Carriers and Rigging Association, Truckload Carriers Association, and Women in Trucking.
“This legislation will make our roadways safer for all Americans and is a shot in the arm for our supply chain, allowing more goods to safely and efficiently moved throughout the country,” Graves said.