Visit Reiterates Commitment to Puerto Rico and Strengthens FMCSA Partnership on the Ground
Representatives from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) recently visited Puerto Rico as part of the White House Working Group on Puerto Rico to meet with leaders of the U.S. territory and learn how FMCSA and the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) can facilitate more effective solutions that enhance transportation safety as part of a unified approach.
“FMCSA’s top priorities in Puerto Rico include partnering with universities and research nonprofits to boost our strategies through improved data collection and trend analysis, as well as developing new technological tools to enhance our safety work. We are also focused on engaging with commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers to raise awareness of safe driving practices. This is crucial, as 84 percent of CMV-related crashes in Puerto Rico involve at least one human error factor,” said Puerto Rico Division Administrator Alberto Cerro.
How Puerto Rico Differs
As a U.S. territory, Puerto Rico is not subject to the same authority from FMCSA as states and the District of Columbia are, with the exception of hazardous materials transportation.
Despite the distinctive jurisdictional landscape, FMCSA is committed to supporting CMV safety within the territory through its Puerto Rico Division Office. The team conducts compliance investigations of motor carriers required to hold a Hazardous Materials Safety Permit, partners with safety stakeholders, and provides financial assistance to enhance CMV safety in the territory through regulation, education, enforcement, research, and technology.
Puerto Rico is also eligible to receive grant funding. From FY22 to FY24, FMCSA has awarded nearly $7 million in grant funding to key grant partners in the territory, including the Transport and other Public Services Bureau (TPSB) and the Puerto Rico Highways and Transportation Authority (PRHTA) of the Department of Transportation and Public Works (DTPW).
Furthermore, the FMCSA Puerto Rico Division has taken a proactive stance in its educational endeavors, launching a series of safety campaigns addressing key issues, including CMV rollover prevention, sharing the road with large trucks and buses, and work zone safety, reaching more than 72,000 CMV drivers and over 30 million general impressions between fiscal years 2022 and 2023.
While the nearly 3.28 million residents of Puerto Rico primarily rely on maritime shipping to maintain daily life and economic activity, five of the territory’s nine ports are container ports that interface with over 18,000 road miles in its highway transportation system. The territory currently has one fixed weigh and inspection site, and a second site is in the development.
FMCSA is working with USDOT to further strengthen and support Puerto Rico’s CMV administrative capacity through grants and technical assistance.
FMCSA’s Commitment to Puerto Rico
Within the White House Working Group Action Plan, USDOT representatives are committed to three deliverables:
Strengthening USDOT technical assistance and resources in Puerto Rico to enhance the Territory’s administrative capacity
FMCSA approved an additional full-time employee who will be exclusively dedicated to compliance and grant management responsibilities thereby increasing the recipient’s administrative capacity to meet projected expenditures.
Pursuing partnerships between the Build America Bureau and Puerto Rico to facilitate major infrastructure projects
FMCSA awarded to Puerto Rico for the first time a planning grant under the Innovative Technology Deployment Grant to develop an architecture plan to, among other safety purposes, implement IT infrastructure and improve driver and motor carrier data collection and sharing and to reduce federal, state, and industry regulatory and administrative costs.
Department-wide translation services to develop technical resources in Spanish
Since mid-2022, FMCSA has been developing a multi-lingual glossary of motor carrier industry terms to standardize the translation of technical industry terms and streamline the translation work of official technical documents and resources. A group of FMCSA personnel from different language backgrounds and subject matter expertise in various program areas are leading these translation efforts.
In pursuit of these deliverables, FMCSA met Puerto Rican leaders in the transportation sector, including the territory’s first woman Secretary of Transportation and Public Works Eileen Vélez-Vega, Special Aid to the Secretary Lynnette Alicea-León, and the Transport and Public Services Bureau’s (TPSB) leadership, Chairman Jaime A. Lafuente-González and Associate Commissioner Iris V. Guilloty-Ortiz. TPSB serves as the territory’s lead agency for FMCSA’s Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP).
“It was uplifting and inspirational to meet all the incredibly informed and intelligent women leading the transportation sector in Puerto Rico,” said FMCSA Director of Government Affairs Brenna Marron. “It was also helpful for our delegation to be on the ground and see some of the challenges that may not have been voiced, particularly with language accessibility.”
FMCSA Priorities in Puerto Rico
While in Puerto Rico, FMCSA representatives focused on safety issues, the commercial driver’s license (CDL) program, and human trafficking prevention.
During a roadside truck inspection facilitated by FMCSA’s Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP) partners in Puerto Rico , a veteran safety inspector completed a Level II inspection demonstration for the USDOT delegation. safety Staff got a firsthand look at the impact inspections have on roadway safety, the safe and efficient movement of goods, and, ultimately, the supply chain’s resilience.
FMCSA is committed to supporting Puerto Rico’s efforts by providing guidance and consulting with Puerto Rico’s leaders on these efforts in alignment with the Biden Administration’s priorities of removing unnecessary restrictions uniquely applied to Puerto Rico. The agency will continue its partnership with transportation leaders in the territory to ensure its residents receive the technical and financial assistance necessary to implement FMCSA’s safety mission.
