Derek Barrs (left) received the leadership recognition award from 2023-2024 CVSA President Col. Russ Christoferson, with the Montana Department of Transportation, at the 2024 CVSA Annual Conference and Exhibition.
The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) expresses its full support for the nomination of Derek Barrs to serve as administrator of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).
Barrs’ commitment to commercial motor vehicle safety spans two decades, serving in various law enforcement capacities for the Florida Department of Transportation and the Florida Highway Patrol. Most recently, he served as associate vice president at HNTB, a transportation infrastructure solutions firm.
“On behalf of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, which represents the 13,000 commercial motor vehicle safety inspectors throughout North America, I want to congratulate Mr. Barrs on his nomination to serve as FMCSA administrator,” said CVSA Executive Director Collin Mooney, who provided a letter to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy in February recommending Barrs for the administrator role.
Barrs was an active member of CVSA, serving as the Florida Highway Patrol’s lead agency representative within the Alliance and as chair of CVSA’s Enforcement and Industry Modernization Committee, where he led efforts to identify technological advancements that could be leveraged to improve commercial motor vehicle safety.
After retiring from law enforcement as chief of the Florida Highway Patrol in 2020, Barrs continued to serve in CVSA leadership as vice president, then president of its associate (industry) members.