The next permanent head of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will likely depend on the outcome of this year’s presidential election.
But trucking groups shared with Trucking Dive some qualities they’d like to see in their next chief safety regulator, regardless of who wins the White House next year.
Their requests ranged from openness and willingness to listen — key qualities for any regulator — to more specific hopes for the next presidential appointee to lead the agency. Sue Lawless has served as interim FMCSA deputy administrator since the departure of Administrator Robin Hutcheson in January.
To safely serve its role as a critical link in the supply chain, trucking “depends on partners in government who understand our industry,” said Ed Gilroy, who succeeded Bill Sullivan as American Trucking Associations chief advocacy and public affairs officer, in a statement.
“The FMCSA administrator is vital to the success of that effort, which is why the candidates for this position must value stakeholder input and the importance of real-world data, not rhetoric, when formulating decisions,” Gilroy said. “The ability to work collaboratively to achieve our shared goals in highway safety is paramount.”
Truckload Carriers Association President Jim Ward praised Hutcheson, who he said fit the profile of what trucking should hope for in an FMCSA administrator.
“She was very willing to sit down and listen to our concerns from an industry perspective,” Ward said.
Ward hopes the next agency head will demonstrate a similar openness to the industry’s feedback and concerns.
Trucking needs “somebody that's just really willing to engage with us as an industry and have an open dialogue about opportunities,” he said.
Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association EVP Lewie Pugh has a more specific request.
“We would like to see an individual who has a trucking background, who understands trucking,” Pugh said. “Having drove a truck would be fantastic.”
Pugh described Hutcheson as “great to work with” and said the previous few administrators “have done really well.”
Appointing an administrator familiar with the ins and outs of trucking, though, would go the furthest toward addressing the roadway safety goals shared by the agency and the industry, he said.
“It’d be nice to have someone that trucking doesn’t have to train,” Pugh said. “We all have to talk to them and get them onboard. While we’re doing that, nothing’s changing. Nothing’s getting better.”
