NRMCA Meets With FMCSA Administrator on Hours of Service Changes

Last Friday, representatives from NRMCA met with Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) Administrator Anne Ferro, the FMCSA director of government affairs, the FMCSA associate administrator for the Office of Policy and Program Development and, via conference call, the FMCSA chief of Driver and Carrier Operations Division. Friday’s meeting was held at FMCSA’s headquarters to discuss the specifics of how the ready mixed concrete industry operates, how the hours of service (HOS) regulations affect the industry, assist FMCSA with moving forward on NRMCA’s application for an industrywide exemption from the new 30-minute break rule and to follow-up on Chandler Concrete Company’s invitation offering Administrator Ferro a plant tour down in North Carolina.

The meeting helped educate FMCSA on the ins and outs of the ready mixed concrete industry and how it makes concrete mixer drivers a unique class of commercial motor vehicle operator. NRMCA arrived at the meeting with materials highlighting the industry’s product, attention to safety, operations details and statistics, and NRMCA’s industry guidance on regulatory compliance. FMCSA stated it will be reviewing the materials NRMCA brought, in addition to what was sent with NRMCA’s exemption application, in order to appropriately consider and then publish the exemption request in the Federal Register within the next couple of weeks. Finally, Administrator Ferro confirmed her commitment and eagerness to attend the ready mixed concrete plant tour once a specific date can be arranged.