Jacksonville, FL — Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration head Derek Barrs has vowed that the agency “will do away with anything that has to do with self-certification” amid related challenges to “major” FMCSA initiatives.
Addressing the Transportation Club of Jacksonville on Dec. 11, Barrs suggested that regulatory changes affecting the certification of driver training schools, electronic logging devices and medical review officers would be focus areas during his term.
“Self-certification has to go,” Barrs said.
He asserted that a lack of agency oversight has led to compliance concerns by, for example, easing the process to self-certify as an institution that meets federal entry-level driver training standards.
Barrs, who was confirmed Oct. 7 by the Senate to be agency administrator, said FMCSA has pulled 3,000 training schools from its registry in the past two months, while an additional 4,500 faced possible removal over the next month because of noncompliance.
“Who are you? Do you have the right qualifications? And are you following the rules that are actually set into place?” Barrs said. “Do you actually have a principal place of business? Do you actually have curriculum? Do you actually have a truck to actually test drivers on or in?”
Similarly, Barrs added, the agency is removing from its list of approved ELDs those that fail to meet federal requirements for recording commercial motor vehicle hours of service. He said FMCSA has revoked more than 70 devices for noncompliance this year, but reiterated that more stringent vetting merely is a “stopgap” maneuver.
“We have to start working toward a regulatory process to say, ‘OK, what’s going to be the rule?’” Barrs said.
Another top agency issue: federal enforcement of English language proficiency among truck drivers. In April, President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order mandating that drivers be placed out of service for failing an English proficiency test. The test includes a driver interview and an assessment of highway traffic sign recognition.
Provisions of the Code of Federal Regulations outline English proficiency as a general qualification for drivers.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy wrote in a Dec. 10 post to X that the Department of Transportation has pulled 9,500 truckers from the roads for failing language tests.
Barrs called Duffy a “boots-on-the-ground, hands-on secretary” who “wants to be engaged.”
He added that collaboration with industry stakeholders and safety advocates will help prevent roadway deaths.
“Our mission is to save lives,” he said. “Year over year over year over year, thousands of people are dying on our roadways. … And if we can help prevent that – from a regulatory standpoint, from a motor carrier standpoint, from safety advocates and on and on and on – we have to keep driving. We have to keep working. We have to get up every day to do these things. And that’s what drives me every day to get up and do this.”
