We have been talking about problems that states have had implementing a federal trucking safety regulation. This rule requires states to collect paper copies of drivers' medical examination reports when the interstate truck drivers apply for or renew their licenses. This is one piece of information to be added to a national database that will track drivers' fitness, history of accidents and other information currently available only at the state level.

Reports indicate that many states, perhaps even South Carolina, will not meet the Jan. 30 implementation deadline. As we discussed in our last post, many states have not completed the technical modifications needed to hook into the national system. Other states have had financing issues, with legislators choosing other programs over this one during tight budget years.

In some cases, too, state laws stand in the way. One state disqualifies drivers who don't give their medical certificates to the state. That law conflicts with the federal regulation, so it must be repealed. The state's legislature didn't pass the repeal during the last session, and the next session starts in February, after the Jan. 30 deadline.

In another state, the bill that brought state law in line with the federal regulation made it all the way to the governor. But the bill included an unrelated provision that the governor objected to, and he vetoed it.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is well aware that almost one third of all states will miss the deadline. Rather than penalize those states right away, though -- by cutting federal highway funds by as much as 5 percent -- the FMCSA is asking each tardy state to submit a plan and a timeline for implementation. If the FMCSA finds the plan wanting, it will stop payment of the highway funds on Oct. 1, 2014.

According to one state legislator, the regulation itself is not an issue, nor is there any objection to adopting the necessary state laws. ""It's not a reluctance to get it fixed," he explained. "It's just been on a bigger bill that failed. It's been the victim of the process."

Source: Washington Post, "One-third of states may miss truck driver rules deadline, risk losing road money," Associated Press, Jan. 2, 2012