Trucking Deregulation: Proposed Sunset of ICC's Trucking Regulatory Responsibilities
RCED-87-107
Published: Apr 23, 1987. Publicly Released: May 04, 1987.
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Highlights
In response to a congressional request, GAO: (1) assessed the merits of retaining or eliminating certain Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) trucking regulatory functions; and (2) estimated the budgetary impact of deregulation on ICC.
Recommendations
Matter for Congressional Consideration
| Matter | Status | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| If Congress acts favorably on proposed deregulatory legislation, it may wish to consider revising the provisions in section 30 of the Motor Carrier Act of 1980, which specify insurance requirements for motor carriers, so as to make the requirements for private and for-hire carriers identical. |
Closed – Not Implemented
|
Congressional response to this recommendation was conditional on congressional action on trucking deregulation. There has been no action by Congress on proposed legislation. |
| If Congress takes further action on deregulatory legislation, it may wish to consider either retaining the Carmack Amendment as statutory law, or replacing by statute both the statutory and common law cargo damage liability requirements, leaving such requirements solely to contractual agreements between the carrier and the shipper. |
Closed – Not Implemented
|
Congressional response to this recommendation was conditional on congressional action on trucking deregulation, which has not taken place. |
| Congress may also wish to consider, in any deregulatory legislation, the need to restructure the collection of data on the trucking industry in the federal government to ensure that public and private needs for data are met in the most cost-effective manner if the ICC role in data collection is terminated. Congress may wish to mandate that DOT act to coordinate such a restructuring along the lines described above. |
Closed – Not Implemented
|
Congressional response to this recommendation was conditional on congressional action on trucking deregulation, which has not taken place. |
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Transportation | The Secretary of Transportation should direct appropriate department officials to develop a long-term assessment of requirements for and costs of data on truck transportation, based on the needs of various users in the federal and state governments and in the private sector, and, in conjunction with OMB, coordinate data gathering among DOT, ICC, Census, and other truck transportation data-gathering agencies. |
Closed – Not Implemented
DOT does not believe that further action is needed. There has been no change in its position since the recommendation was made.
|
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Topics
Data collectionFuture budget projectionsHighway safetyIndependent regulatory commissionsInterstate commerceProposed legislationTraffic regulationTransportation industryTransportation safetyTrucking operations