WASHINGTON — Following a broad deregulatory initiative launched last year, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has finalized 11 of 18 rulemaking actions originally proposed in May 2025.
The final rules, published on Thursday, address a range of operational requirements, from vehicle equipment standards to administrative recordkeeping, and are an effort to modernize regulations that affect trucking.
Highlights among them include:
- Electronic recordkeeping: FMCSA has formally clarified that Driver Vehicle Inspection Reports may be created, maintained, and signed electronically, removing ambiguous language that previously suggested a need for paper-based methods.
- Safety equipment modernization: FMCSA is removing the requirement for trucks to carry liquid-burning flares and spare fuses, noting that these devices are largely obsolete or easily replaced at retail locations.
- Vehicle lighting and markings: New exceptions eliminate the need for functional license plate lamps on the rear of truck tractors while towing a trailer. Additionally, the agency clarified that it does not require tire load markings on sidewalls, deferring those manufacturing standards to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
- Military personnel inclusion: The “military exception” from CDL standards is now extended to dual-status military technicians, harmonizing the treatment of all personnel operating commercial motor vehicles for military purposes.
FMCSA also reformed rules related to:
- Certification and labeling requirements for rear impact guards
- Auxiliary fuel tanks
- Brakes on portable conveyors
- Fuel tank overfill restriction
- Obsolete references to “water carriers”
The American Trucking Associations and the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association weighed in on most of the proposals, describing many of the changes as “commonsense regulatory reform.”
FMCSA emphasized, however, that while the slate of operational reforms collectively will make life easier for drivers and carriers by reducing administrative burdens and potentially extending the useful life of older equipment, the economic impact of each specific rule is expected to have a small or negligible effect on costs and savings for the industry.
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Click for more FreightWaves articles by John Gallagher.
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