What Is A UCR State's "Real" Responsibility?

Unregistered Carriers on 10/16/2009 - 1901
Unregistered Carriers on 10/19/2009 - 1891

I'm not going to keep doing the Pre-Add/Post-Add thing I referred to in my last post because it gets a little confusing, but I would like to point out that we added 62 new carriers over the weekend, which essentially "nullified" a great registration total on Friday. So far in October (11 work days), we have registered 673 carriers and taken in $51K.

This week, I'd like to share some observations about a participating state's responsibilities under the UCR program. Before I do, I'd like to once again point out that I see very few right or wrong answers regarding this issue, so I'm certainly not trying to point fingers or find fault. It's just a discussion.

We've all heard the mantra "the States aren't doing enough". But how do we know? Who defined "enough"? And, more importantly, how did they define it? Do any two of us - industry or state - even agree on a definition of "enough"?

Meanwhile, some UCR programs sit in DMV's, some in PUC's, some in Revenue Departments, some in DOT's ... and each of those types of agencies has its own definition of "enough" as it pertains to getting their constituents into compliance. Some of these entities conduct more than one program under their respective roofs(?) - IRP, IFTA, UCR, Intrastate Authority, MCSAP, etc. Some entities, like us, had never dealt with private carriers at all until UCR.

All of this is the backdrop for tomorrow's discussion - a litany of current and potential "attitudes" about UCR. I think you'll find that all of these "attitudes" have some merit. You might also find, as I have, that your own State's "attitude" might make sense for you, but not for other states.