Can federal government agencies use unsatisfactory rated motor carriers?
Current Rule: They must not use motor carriers with an unsatisfactory safety rating to transport passengers or hazardous materials in interstate commerce. New Rule: Federal agencies would now be prohibited from using carriers of non-hazardous materials freight receiving a final unsatisfactory safety rating issued on or after the effective date of the rule. They would continue to be prohibited from using these motor carriers to transport P, HM. Q. Some in the trucking industry maintain DOT misinterpreted the section of TEA-21 in drawing an equivalence between a declaration of unfitness and an unsatisfactory safety rating. What is DOT’s response? Both the Motor Carrier Safety Act of 1990 (MCSA) and Section 4009 of TEA-21 focused on Section 31144 of Title 49 of the United States Code. The similarity between the current 49 U.S.C. 31144 and the previous 49U.S.C. 31144 convinces the FMCSA that Congress intended section 4009 apply the principles of section 15(b) of the MCSA to the entire rang
