The federal agencies involved
In the United States, the transportation law comprises the federal and state laws that govern the transportation of passengers and goods. The laws are mainly focus on transportation as a business and are thus concerned with the methods and means used by the transport industries. Different means of transportation of goods and passengers are encompassed in the laws. These include the road transport, rail transport, water transport, air transport, and pipeline. The laws provide for the safety of the users of these means of transport, the materials to be transported, and the public non-users. These laws are mainly enacted and enforced by the state and its agencies. Different agencies are involved in the development and enforcement of these transportation laws.
The US Department of Transportation (DOT)
This is the umbrella body concerned with the development of the policies governing the transport sector in the US. In conjunction with the relevant local and state offices, the US DOT enacts policies that govern the design and construction of different transport systems like railroads, highways, and even sea routes (Transportation Law, 2011).
The department of transportation ensures that high quality services are provided in the transport sector. It is charged with the mandate of ensuring that transportation system is developed in the country that is fast and safe for use by the public. The conditions of roads and highways, the railroads, pipelines, and the maritime have to be checked and improved constantly to ensure that they meet the modern standards (Transportation Law, 2011, para.2). The department is also concerned with the accessibility of these means of transport. It ensures that the most affordable means of transport, that is roads, is highly accessible through development of network of roads and highways all over the country. There is a need to have a proper connection between the most flexible means of transport like roads and the others like rail, pipeline, sea and air transport to improve the convenience of these services to the users. For instance, there is need for road connection between a railway station or pipeline and a water port. The airports in the country should have sufficient road access. There other agencies created within and outside the department that are concerned with the development and enforcement of the transportation laws in different areas of transport. Proper coordination among these different agencies is very essential in achieving the overall objectives of the transport department.
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)
FMCSA is an agency concerned with the safety of large trucks transporting goods and large buses that convey passengers. It was developed from the Federal Highway Administration following the Motor Carrier Safety Improvement Act of 1999 (Transportation Law, 2011, para.9). The focus of this agency is safety in the use of large commercial buses and trucks. The agency is concerned with the safety of the driver and the vehicle including the materials and passengers that are being transported. It ensures the reduction of cases of road accidents and related odds that are associated with these motor carriers (Transportation Law, 2011, para.9).
FMCSA focuses on safety regulation by considering certain aspects. The hours-of-service by the drivers is crucial in ensuring safety. Longer hours greatly contribute to violation of traffic rules leading to accidents. The hours of service rules have been revised over the past period. The rules adopted in 2003 required a maximum driving time of 11 hours, on-duty time of 14 hours, and minimum off-duty time of 10 hours. FMCSA regulates and considers adjustments in these rules.
The agency also checks into the qualifications of drivers of these motor carriers. The drivers undergo series of tests to check for fitness to the task. The health statuses of the drivers are examined by a panel of medical practitioners. Drug and alcohol use by the drivers is also examined. It ensures that the drivers have undergone a thorough training on road safety procedures.
The agency also examines the conditions of the equipments to be used and regulates entry of new trucks and buses into the system. The carriers have to apply for operating authority and obtain an identification number from the US DOT. The agency takes a lead in ensuring that these federal safety regulations are followed by the drivers and the transport organizations in the different states in the US. The agency also ensures that standard regulations are adopted by the different states in the routing systems so that a given state cannot restrict the routes used by the drivers of international transport organizations without proper grounds. Other regulations on the motor carriers are enforced by the Surface Transportation Board (STB).
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
The FAA works to ensure that the air transport system in the US is safe and efficient for use by the public. The agency develops and enforces various regulations in the US civil aviation. It leads in the development of modern aviation technology and air traffic-control system. The agency develops standards for hiring or dismissing pilots and other flight operators.
Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)
FHWA is a federal agency that is concerned with the improvements of the roads and highways in the country to meet the high safety standards (Transportation Law, 2011, para.8). The agency seeks for the financial resources that can be used to upgrade the conditions of the highways. It also regulates the use of these infrastructural facilities. In particular, the agency regulates weights and sizes of trucks and buses use as motor carriers.
Federal Railroad Administration (FRA)
FRA regulates the operations of the railroads in the US and checks the compliance of the operators with the laws (Transportation Law, 2011). The agency seeks and obtains government funds that are used in supporting the rail transport. It ensures that the railway track and the cars that are used are in good conditions. The agency develops railroad assistance programs and trains rail workers on the safety measures. FRA carries research on the appropriate transportation policies to be adopted nationally (Transportation Law, 2011, para.10).
Transportation Security Administration (TSA)
The Transportation Security Administration is an agency that provides protection to the transportation system and ensures the freedom of movement of the citizens as well as goods for trade. The TSA comprises security officers, directors, and air marshals who ensure the protection of the passengers. To ensure this security, screening is often done at the departure points where a passenger is required to avail an identification document like US passport or passport card, Permanent resident card, Drivers licenses, and many others. The officials check for dangerous materials such as bombs that can be planted at the points of departure. They also patrol on the rails and roads to be used to ensure that they are in good condition. Currently, the TSA concentrates more on conducting checks on drivers transporting hazardous materials. A thorough screening is done before the drivers can be issued with the commercial drivers licenses.
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA)
The PHMSA is concerned with safety when conveying goods that are harmful to the human health. The agency cooperates with different other agencies since the hazmats are encountered in various means of transport. It publicizes the transport regulations and ensures that they are followed by providing penalties to different lawbreakers. The provisions of the agency are superior to, and preempt, the laws enacted at state level that are not consistent with federal regulations.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
NHTSA aims at reducing loss of lives and property due to road accidents. It conducts research, provides training on the appropriate road safety measures, and ensures that the standards are adopted (Transportation Law, 2011). The agency is concerned with the design of the motor vehicles to improve its safety. This includes checking for the breaks, lighting systems, and airbags in the vehicles. It also ensures that safety belts are fitted in the passenger vehicles and that the rule concerning their use is followed. The agency also coordinates with the other agencies like FMCSA to help improve on the safety standards of large commercial trucks and buses.
Common carrier obligation
Common carrier
There are various descriptions given for common carriers. A common carrier can refer to an individual or company that offers transportation services to other individuals or companies in exchange of a reward. The common carriers invest in the business of providing transportation services to the public. The transport organization often obtains authority by a given regulatory body in the country. Dolan (2004) provides certain factors that can be helpful in determining if a given organization or individual operator is a common carrier. Firstly, Dolan observes that a common carrier carries out its business of transporting passengers and goods in some regular location (p.22). Its routes of operations need be fixed and defined. It is important to note that there are other common carriers with no fixed routes and regular patterns of departure. Like the other business organizations, these transport organizations also inform the public of its transportation services through advertisements and set standard charges for its services (Dolan, 2004, p.22). The changes in the charges need to be availed to the clients at the convenient times to allow for the adjustments. Different categories of transport equipments qualify to be termed common carriers and are thus considered common carriers by the US transportation laws. These include streetcars, wagons, airlines, elevators, escalators, mule trains, and taxicabs among the others (Dolan, 2004, p.23). In the US, railroad cars and trains have been considered as the one of the key common carriers.
A common carrier is different from a contract carrier in that the latter can be hired for transportation by a given client and they can reject being hired by another client. The common carriers are not to exercise such discrimination. If a common carrier refuses to be hired for some transportation service without a proper justification, there are legal actions that can be taken against the organization. This does not apply to the private carriers.
Common carrier obligation
A transportation organization that has qualified to be termed common carrier has to fulfill certain requirements. This set of requirements to be met by the common carriers is termed as common carrier obligation. The common carrier obligation refers to the legal requirements of the common carriers (e.g. railroads) to offer their transportation services as requested by the clients (Lindh, Zeller & Berdge, 2008, p.2). The common carriers are not supposed to deny some client the transport service on grounds that it would be inconvenient or uneconomical to the company.
The common carrier obligation was developed and adopted as transportation law in the US mainly to regulate the operations in the railroads. However, the regulations are also applicable to other common carriers. It was adopted to ensure that the railroads could not select the shippers that they would serve and the types of goods that could be transported depending on the interest of the transport company. In this context, the regulation was developed to prevent the railroads from only serving the most profitable businesses. Without imposing such requirements, the railroads would set high rates and provide poor services to the small shippers with little or no bargaining power as compared to the services given to large shippers who would offer voluminous traffic to the railroads. The rule prevents this kind of discrimination and ensures that all the clients are served as required. The Office of compliance and Consumer Assistance established in the Surface Transportation Board is charged with the responsibility of ensuring that the carriers meet the common carrier obligations.
There are other requirements that are imposed on the motor carriers. The carriers are required to be responsible for the safety of the passengers and goods once the carriers have been contracted to provide the services. These requirements may not apply to the carriers that have offered to provide the services free of charge. The carriers for passengers and goods that are for profit should ensure that they provide safe carriage by observing high degree of care and diligence. Once they have been contracted by the passengers, the carriers should all the support that is required to ensure that the passengers are conveyed safely to their destinations. The vehicles that are used for the transportation services should be safe and fit for traffic use. The operators of the vehicles should be trained and be conversant with the traffic requirements. The common carriers are responsible for any losses and injuries that may result from the use of faulty vehicles or the poor control of such equipments when transporting the passengers. During the contract period, the common carriers have to provide required accommodation and hospitality to the passengers. The passengers with different needs to be identified at the checkpoint and the appropriate assistance provided throughout the period. The passengers with special needs could include those with disabilities and the minors that are not accompanied by adults. Much attention should be given to such groups of passengers.
Preemption
Preemption of a given regulation refers to a latter provision that is superior and obstructs the given regulation from taking course. Preemption of laws is often necessary when the provisions are not consistent with all the objectives of a given governing body. In as much as the federal government would wish that the different transport organizations ensure safety of the users, it is also its desire to have the organizations prosper in their business operations. The common carrier obligation as it applies to the operations of the rail roads had certain shortcomings and had to be reviewed. In the recent past, these regulations have often been preempted by other federal laws that consider the public interest and the interest of the transport company. Certain operators abandoned the transport service at the railroads due to the associated risks and losses that were incurred in several cases. Of particular interest were the carriers that transported hazardous materials. These materials were toxic if inhaled by the operators like drivers of the carriers. More incentives were required to take care of the losses that would arise due to inhalation of such substances during the conveyance. Similarly, the toxic spills of these materials would get their way into the natural resources that are used by the public like water. This would pose health problems to the public. The routes used for the transportation of hazardous materials should be selected properly to ensure safety and health of the citizens. Thus, depending on the nature of the products to be transported, the carriers may be forced to reject a request for service with respect to the associated challenges. The routing system should be flexible so that the routes to be taken by carriers of hazmats do not cut across densely populated regions. Unfortunately, the consideration of the alternative routes may be of economic disadvantage to the motor carrier. The rules do not often consider if the alternative routes to be adopted are economically practicable for the common carriers (Lindh, Zeller & Berdge, 2008, p.7).
Environmental impact statement
Background
The actions of various departments of the government may have some effects on the human environment and pose other challenges. There is a requirement that the environmental affects be considered before different actions are concluded by various agencies of the government. It was observed that the legal provisions that led to the creation of the different agencies did not consider the environmental impacts that the actions initiated by these agencies could have. In this respect, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) was enacted in 1969 to serve as a national legislation that would help in the protection of the environment. It was meant to ensure that the different federal agencies take into consideration the impacts that their decisions and actions would have on the environment. NEPA aimed at improving the kind of relationship that man develops with the environment in order to get the best benefit from it. It would discourage the activities and actions that would damage the environment and cause health problems. It was also intended to create awareness on the need to conserve the natural resources among the public in the US.
NEPA was also enacted to institute the Council of Environmental Quality (CEQ) whose members are to be appointed by the president. This would help ensure that the federal laws are established that have concern for the environment. The CEQ would provide the necessary advice on the president on issues relating to the environment and thus help in developing the national policy on environmental care. The council had to obtain and evaluate the relevant information pertaining to the quality of the environment and make the appropriate recommendations to the president. It would come handy in the evaluation of the government programs that would not have adverse impact on the environment.
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
The Environment Impact Statement is a document that illustrates the compliance of a given federal agency with the federal laws that protect the environment (Christopher et al, n.d, p.2). The document affirms that the NEPA policies that require environmental concern have been considered in the design and the proposed implementation of the given government programs. The EIS is used together with the other documents like the Environmental Assessment to help in the decision making and planning of the federal programs.
The EIS is prepared after and environmental assessment concerning a given project has been carried out. The EIS takes the structure of an organizational report with cover sheet containing the document title, a summary of the key items in the document and the arrangement of the items. There is then a statement of the aims of the project or actions to be initiated. The reasons as to why the given project is proposed by the agency are clearly stated in the document. The alternative actions that could also be taken are also sought and included in the document. The report from the environmental assessment is then incorporated into the document. The part of the environment that is affected and the environmental effects are clearly stated here. It will be required that the document be availed to different agencies and government departments. Thus, there is a list of the parties involved in preparing the document and all the recipients of the document at the end of the document.
The public‘s input needs to be included in the EIS process. The federal environmental laws require that the assessment of impacts of a given transportation project be publicly disclosed for scrutiny by the public (Christopher et al, n.d, p.1). A notice of intent (NOI) is often published in the federal register to inform the public that and EIS will be prepared.
Before a project can be appraised by the CEQ, the federal agencies must prove their commitments to the environmental management. The federal agencies must establish proper waste management plans (Christopher et al, n.d, p.3).
Besides, the alternative actions that are included in the document are also examined when considering a given project. A transportation project cannot be permitted if there is a reasonable alternative that can be adopted that avoids a given environmental risk (Christopher et al, n.d, p.4). In case the risks cannot be avoided, there should be measures to minimize the impacts of the action on the environment.
Environmental assessment
An environmental assessment is done prior to the preparation of the EIS. Having established that the action has some impacts on the quality of the environment, an EA is carried out to determine if there is need for preparing an EIS for the action. The EA will provide much of the information that is necessary in preparing the EIS like the environmental impacts, the purpose of the proposed actions and the alternatives that are available. In case there is no need for an EIS, the EA will enable the federal agency to implement actions that are in line with the requirements of NEPA.
There are certain measures that need to be carried out before an EIS is prepared. There are actions that can be determined explicitly to have no significant effects on the quality of the environments. This is referred to as categorical exclusion. A Finding of no significant impact (FONSI) is then issued to explain why the given actions are considered to have no significant impacts on the environment and do not require EA or EIS. This issue is published in the federal register to avail it to the public.
References
Christopher, R. (N.d). Environmental Issues in Transportation Law. Transportation in the New Millennium. Web.
Dolan, C. (2004). Common carrier Liability. Forum by consumers attorneys of California. Web.
Lindh, F., Zeller, J. and Berdge, P. (2008). Comments of the people of the state of California and the California Public Utilities Commission. STB Ex Parte, No.67 (Sub-No.1). Web.
Transportation Law- Guide to Transport Law. (2011). Web.