The over-the-road trucking industry as well as the school bus industry has long-awaited the appointment of Ann Ferro as the new FMCSA administrator, and this week the Senate made it official.

Ferro comes from the Maryland Motor Vehicle Association and was previously a member of the Maryland General Assembly. In the pending surface transportation reauthorization bill, she stands to inherit the long-awaited rulemaking on implementation of a national register of medical examiners to which school districts as well as other commercial vehicle operators would need to send their drivers for obtaining or renewing their CDLs. Robin Leeds, an industry specialist for the National School Transportation Association, told NASDPTS members this week at the annual conference in Louisville, Ky., that cost and access to doctors, especially in rural areas, is of great concern.

Other issues on the table are new medical forms for commercial drivers tied to detecting and treating sleep apnea. The FMCSA's Medical Review Board found determined earlier this year that drivers with a body-mass index of 30, the federal definition of obesity, dictate that testing for the sleep disorder is necessary. If confirmed and left untreated, sleep apnea is grounds for disqualifying one's CDL.

Ferro is also eyeing a new final rule on entry-level commercial driver training with the next two years. It contains a provision that would require commercial drivers to obtain certification from an accredited institution, which is opposed by NSTA. Leeds said the cost to the school bus industry could be in the ballpark of $100.7 million per year.

On the drug and alcohol enforcement front, FMCSA is also seeking a federal clearinghouse that would assist all commercial operators in determining if a prospective new driver has any prior convictions. This would eliminate the current requirement that schools conduct extensive drug and alcohol background checks as, ostensibly, FMCSA would have all relevant information located in its national database.

Other issues on the table include an FMCSA memo sent last month that it would continue to enforce regulations prohibiting commercial drivers from using medical marijuana, despite a relaxed posture from the current administration.

The school bus industry is also targeting improved an partnership with Ferro's office. A meeting with a representative of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, a contractor for FMCSA's nationwide commercial vehicle roadside inspections, grew heated this week in Lousiville when Bill Dofflemeyer, chair of CVSA's new school bus task force suggested that the school bus industry could do more to improve the mechanical safety of school buses.