Tag: #truckdrivers

FMCSA asks for more input on automated driving systems for trucks and buses

Posted on by McCraren Compliance

Original article published by Safety+Health

Photo: FMCSA

Washington — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is moving forward – and seeking feedback – on a proposed rule that would amend, revise or eliminate existing regulations to integrate commercial trucks and buses equipped with automated driving systems.

A supplemental advance notice of proposed rulemaking published in the Feb. 1 Federal Register requests additional information as the agency aims to expand on a May 2019 ANPRM focused on ADS-equipped vehicles.

In its Fall 2022 Unified Regulatory Agenda, FMCSA had indicated its intention to publish in January a notice of proposed rulemaking on the vehicles.

“FMCSA invites comment on additional questions and those issued in the previous ANPRM to help FMCSA assess benefits, costs and other impacts of any potential proposal issued later,” the SANPRM states.

Those additional questions include:

  • Should FMCSA require motor carriers operating Level 4 or 5 ADS-equipped commercial motor vehicles to notify the agency before operating those vehicles in interstate commerce without a human driver behind the wheel?
  • Before operating in interstate commerce, should motor carriers be required to submit information, data, documentation, or other evidence that demonstrates to FMCSA that motor carriers seeking to operate Level 4 or 5 ADS-equipped CMVs have appropriate safety management controls in place to operate the vehicle in accordance with the manufacturer’s specifications and with federal requirements?
  • What data should FMCSA collect and maintain regarding Level 4 or 5 ADS-equipped CMVs engaged in interstate transportation? How would such information be used and how would it improve the agency’s ability to oversee the safe operation of Level 4 or 5 ADS-equipped CMVs?
  • To what extent should the federal requirements otherwise applicable to CMV drivers (such as hours-of-service limitations, drug and alcohol testing, and physical qualifications) also apply to a remote assistant who isn’t expected to take control of the dynamic driving task of an ADS-equipped CMV operating at Level 4?
  • What, if any, aspects of the remote assistant job function may require FMCSA oversight, including minimum standards and/or auditing (for example, training, physical qualifications and other job-performance related measures)?
  • Are there any specific limitations that should be imposed on the working conditions of remote assistants, such as limitations on the number of ADS-equipped CMVs that a remote assistant is simultaneously responsible for or the number of hours that a remove assistant may work?
  • Should Level 4 or 5 ADS-equipped CMVs be subject to pre-trip inspection requirements for their mechanical and ADS components in addition to those specified in 49 CFR 392.7, including those which might necessitate new inspection equipment, before such CMVs are dispatched and after a specified period of operation?
  • Under what safety situations should state inspectors and/or FMCSA receive immediate notification of an unsafe maintenance or operational issue, if any?

The deadline to comment is March 20.

McCraren Compliance can help you understand and comply with FMCSA, USDOT and ADOT and ensure your drivers and your vehicles operate safely and efficiently.

Call us Today at 888-758-4757 or email us at info@mccrarencompliance.com to schedule your free FMCSA Compliance Assessment.

Trucker access to parking and rest facilities part of supply chain bill

Posted on by McCraren Compliance
Original article published by Safety+Health
trucks-rest-area

Photo: Missouri Department of Transportation

Washington — Measures for expanded access to parking and rest facilities are included in recently proposed bipartisan legislation aimed at revamping the interstate trucking supply chain system.

Introduced Jan. 24 by Reps. Dusty Johnson (R-SD) and Jim Costa (D-CA), the Safer Highways and Increased Performance for Interstate Trucking Act (H.R. 471) would permit the transportation secretary to issue grants for projects that provide truck parking. Those grants would total $175 million in fiscal year 2023 and a combined $580 million over the next three fiscal years.

In step with a Senate bill (S. 5169) introduced in the previous Congress, entities eligible for grants would be:

  • States
  • Metropolitan planning organizations
  • Local governments
  • Agencies of states or local governments “carrying out responsibilities relating to commercial motor vehicle parking”
  • Tribal governments or a consortium of tribal governments
  • Multistate or multijurisdictional groups

Grantees would be permitted to partner with private entities “to carry out an eligible project.” Projects may include those that:

  • Build rest areas that include truck parking.
  • Open existing weigh stations, rest areas and park-and-ride facilities to truck parking.

Further, the legislation would require the transportation secretary to consult with state departments of transportation, private providers of truck parking, and other bodies to prepare a report that “evaluates the availability of adequate parking and rest facilities” for trucks in interstate transportation and updates the progress on providing such spaces.

In a press release, the Shippers Coalition praises the legislation for “lessening burdens on truck drivers.”

A lack of safe places for truckers to park ranked third on the American Transportation Research Institute’s list of top trucking industry concerns, released in October.

McCraren Compliance can help you understand and comply with FMCSA, USDOT and ADOT and ensure your drivers and your vehicles operate safely and efficiently.

Call us Today at 888-758-4757 or email us at info@mccrarencompliance.com to schedule your free FMCSA Compliance Assessment.

FMCSA has Removed Nationwide Technologies Inc’s “Nationwide ELD” from List of Registered ELDs

Posted on by McCraren Compliance

Original article published by FMCSA

Photo: Nationwide Technologies Inc

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has removed Nationwide ELD from the list of registered Electronic Logging Devices (ELD). FMCSA has placed Nationwide ELD on the Revoked Devices list due to the company’s failure to meet the minimum requirements established in 49 CFR part 395, subpart B, appendix A, effective February 3, 2023.

FMCSA sent an industry email to let motor carriers know that all who use Nationwide ELD devices must take the following steps:

  1. Discontinue using the revoked device(s) and revert to paper logs or logging software to record required hours of service data.
  2. Replace the revoked device(s) with compliant ELD(s) from the Registered Devices list before April 4, 2023.

Motor carriers have a period of up to 60 days to replace the revoked device(s) with compliant ELD(s). If the ELD provider corrects all identified deficiencies, FMCSA will place the device back on the list of registered devices and inform the industry and the field.

During this period, safety officials are encouraged not to cite drivers using Nationwide ELD for 395.8(a)(1) – “No record of duty status” or 395.22(a) – “Failing to use a registered ELD.” During this time, safety officials should request the driver’s paper logs, logging software, or use the Nationwide ELD display as a back-up method to review the hours of service data.

Beginning April 4, 2023, motor carriers who continue to use the revoked device listed above would be considered to be operating without an ELD. Safety officials who encounter a driver using a revoked device on or after April 4, 2023 should cite 395.8(a)(1), and place the driver out-of-service in accordance with the CVSA OOS Criteria.

FMCSA strongly encourages motor carriers to take the actions listed above now to avoid compliance issues in the event that the deficiencies are not addressed in time.

For more information on ELDs, visit FMCSA’s ELD implementation website.

McCraren Compliance can help you understand and comply with FMCSA, USDOT and ADOT and ensure your drivers and your vehicles operate safely and efficiently.

Call us Today at 888-758-4757 or email us at info@mccrarencompliance.com to schedule your free FMCSA Compliance Assessment.

FMCSA denies petition for federal recognition of hair-sample drug testing

Posted on by McCraren Compliance

Original article published by Safety+Health

Washington — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has denied a petition calling on the agency to recognize hair samples as an alternative drug-testing method for truckers, reasserting a longstanding position that it lacks the statutory authority to do so.

Federal regulations mandate that truckers be tested for drugs by urinalysis. In August, the Trucking Alliance, a coalition of 11 organizations, requested that FMCSA amend the definition of an employer’s “actual knowledge” of a driver’s positive drug test – which requires the employer to report the results to the FMCSA Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse – to include knowledge of a positive hair test.

The alliance writes in its petition that “public safety is improved through the use of hair testing because drug use is more accurately detected, and drug users are removed from the operation of commercial motor vehicles.”

In a notice published in the Dec. 23 Federal Register, however, FMCSA maintains its stance on following Department of Health and Human Services’ hair-testing guidelines, which remain under review.

“By ignoring the requirement that FMCSA follow the HHS mandatory guidelines for hair testing … the applicant effectively argues that this provision be read in isolation,” FMCSA administrator Robin Hutcheson writes in the notice. “This approach disregards an accepted standard of statutory construction, which provides that statutory text must be construed as a whole.”

In an article published online Dec. 22 in the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association’s Land Line magazine, OOIDA Director of Federal Affairs Jay Grimes supports FMCSA’s decision.

“FMCSA’s swift denial of another Trucking Alliance exemption request highlights the unanswered questions and validity concerns with hair testing. Just because a small percentage of trucking companies opt to screen their drivers using hair testing does not mean the process should be used for the entire industry. OOIDA maintains our opposition to any hair testing mandate.”

Speaking to industry news resource FreightWaves in a report published online Dec. 24, Robert Moseley, an attorney for one of the firms representing the alliance, said petitioning HHS may be on the horizon.

“I think we’re in a position now where we may bring this FMCSA decision over to HHS directly and request a temporary change in policy until they formalize the mandatory guidelines. It’s just not an acceptable answer to say the industry has all these positive hair tests but they can’t be shared with anyone.”

McCraren Compliance can help you understand and comply with FMCSA, USDOT and ADOT and ensure your drivers and your vehicles operate safely and efficiently.

Call us Today at 888-758-4757 or email us at info@mccrarencompliance.com to schedule your free FMCSA Compliance Assessment.

Bipartisan bill intended to increase truckers’ access to restrooms

Posted on by McCraren Compliance
Original article published by Safety+Health

sh.122322.restroom.jpg

Washington — Bipartisan legislation recently introduced in the House would require businesses to give restroom access to truckers who are loading or delivering cargo at their warehouses, manufacturers, distribution centers, retailers and ports.

Reps. Troy Nehls (R-TX) and Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA) introduced the Trucker Bathroom Access Act (H.R. 9592) on Dec. 15. Although the bill doesn’t mandate businesses to construct new restrooms, it does stipulate that establishments with restrooms “intended for use by customers or employees” would have to provide truckers the same access.

Facilities not covered in the bill include rail facilities, filling and service stations, and restaurants 800-square feet or smaller whose restrooms are intended for employee use only.

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association and Women in Trucking support the bill.

“The men and women of America’s trucking industry keep our supply chain moving, and it’s only reasonable that their most basic of needs be accommodated while they are on the job,” OOIDA President and CEO Todd Spencer said in a press release. “We’ve heard from countless drivers who have been forced to ‘hold it’ because they were not allowed to access the bathroom when they were picking up or delivering freight.”

WIT President and CEO Ellen Voie added: “As more women enter the trucking industry, the need for restroom access increases while access to facilities has decreased. We applaud Reps. Nehls and Houlahan’s support.”

McCraren Compliance can help you understand and comply with FMCSA, USDOT and ADOT and ensure your drivers and your vehicles operate safely and efficiently.

Call us Today at 888-758-4757 or email us at info@mccrarencompliance.com to schedule your free FMCSA Compliance Assessment.

FMCSA proposes adjusting scope of regulatory relief during emergencies

Posted on by McCraren Compliance

Original article published by Safety+Health

Photo: FMCSA

Washington — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is requesting public comment on a proposed rule that would “narrow the scope” of temporary hours-of-service exemptions and other regulatory relief for truckers during emergency declarations.

As outlined in a notice of proposed rulemaking published in the Dec. 8 Federal Register, FMCSA is seeking to:

  • Modify the definition of “emergency” to clarify that emergency regulatory relief doesn’t apply to economic conditions caused by market forces, including material or supply shortages, labor strikes, or driver shortages, “unless such conditions or events cause an immediate threat to human life and result in a declaration of emergency.”
  • Remove the definition of “emergency relief” and amend the definition of “direct assistance” to adopt the vital components of the former definition of “emergency relief.”
  • Exempt drivers and motor carriers for five days – down from 30 – during regional emergency declarations issued by a governor, governor’s representative or FMCSA, and apply exemptions only from certain HOS regulations.

Presidential emergency declarations still would have 30-day exemptions and be applicable to current covered regulations, including those applying to driver qualification requirements and vehicle inspections.

McCraren Compliance can help you understand and comply with FMCSA, USDOT and ADOT and ensure your drivers and your vehicles operate safely and efficiently.

Call us Today at 888-758-4757 or email us at info@mccrarencompliance.com to schedule your free FMCSA Compliance Assessment.

Speeding tops list of most cited violations during Operation Safe Driver Week

Posted on by McCraren Compliance
Original article published by Safety+Health
roadside-inspection-2.jpg

Photo: Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance

Greenbelt, MD — Law enforcement officials issued more than 26,000 citations and warnings to passenger-vehicle, truck and bus drivers during the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s annual Operation Safe Driver Week.

From July 10 to July 16, law enforcement officials throughout North America remained on the lookout for drivers engaging in unsafe behaviors including speeding, following too closely, driving distracted, making improper lane changes, failing to wear a seat belt and driving while impaired.

Citations and warnings related to speeding were most common among both passenger-vehicle drivers and commercial truck/bus drivers. Passenger-vehicle drivers were assessed 7,096 citations and 4,722 warnings for speeding, while truck and bus drivers received 1,490 citations and 2,577 warnings.

Citing National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data, CVSA says more than 11,000 speeding-related deaths occurred in the United States in 2020.

The next most common citations issued to truck and bus drivers were failure to use seat belt (735), failure to obey a traffic-control device (505), texting/using a handheld phone (239) and improper lane change (84).

For passenger-vehicle drivers, the next most common citations involved failure to wear a seat belt (1,156), reckless driving (703), improper lane change (263) and texting/using a handheld phone (257).

The next Operation Safe Driver Week is slated for July 9-15.

McCraren Compliance can help you understand and comply with FMCSA, USDOT and ADOT and ensure your drivers and your vehicles operate safely and efficiently.

Call us Today at 888-758-4757 or email us at info@mccrarencompliance.com to schedule your free FMCSA Compliance Assessment.

Senators introduce bipartisan truck parking bill

Posted on by McCraren Compliance
Original article published by Safety+Health
trucks-rest-area.jpg

Photo: Missouri Department of Transportation

Washington — Bipartisan legislation recently introduced in the Senate would help address a nationwide shortage of safe truck parking by authorizing funding to increase parking capacity and improve existing infrastructure.

Federal hours-of-service regulations require truck drivers to park and rest after being on duty for long periods. A lack of safe places for truckers to park ranked third on the American Transportation Research Institute’s list of top trucking industry concerns, released in October.

The Truck Parking Safety Improvement Act (S. 5169), introduced Dec. 1 by Sens. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) and Mark Kelly (D-AZ), would permit the transportation secretary to issue grants for projects that provide truck parking, including $175 million for fiscal year 2023 and a combined $580 million over the next three fiscal years.

Entities eligible for the grants would be:

  • States
  • Metropolitan planning organizations
  • Local governments
  • Agencies of states or local governments “carrying out responsibilities relating to commercial motor vehicle parking”
  • Tribal governments or a consortium of tribal governments
  • Multistate or multijurisdictional groups

Grantees would be permitted to partner with private entities “to carry out an eligible project.”

The legislation is a companion bill to H.R. 2187, sponsored by Rep. Mike Bost (R-IL) and introduced in the House in March 2021. A vote on the House floor hasn’t yet been scheduled after the chamber’s Transportation Infrastructure Committee approved an updated version of the bill in July.

McCraren Compliance can help you understand and comply with FMCSA, USDOT and ADOT and ensure your drivers and your vehicles operate safely and efficiently.

Call us Today at 888-758-4757 or email us at info@mccrarencompliance.com to schedule your free FMCSA Compliance Assessment.

California Highway Patrol wants ELD requirement for intrastate truckers

Posted on by McCraren Compliance

Original article published by Safety+Health

Photo: Department of Transportation Flickr

Sacramento, CA — In an effort to “enhance commercial vehicle safety” and “create consistency between state and federal regulations,” the California Highway Patrol is proposing the state adopt regulations requiring the use of electronic logging devices for commercial motor vehicle carriers involved in intrastate operations.

CHP recently submitted to the California Office of Administrative Law an initial statement of reasons, contending the proposal would bolster safety by “improving compliance with the applicable hours-of-service rules and reducing the overall paperwork burden for both motor carriers and drivers.”

California regulations don’t require an ELD to record a driver’s record-of-duty status. The proposal would largely be consistent with federal ELD regulations promulgated by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, CHP says.

Exemptions would include:

  • Drivers operating under California’s 100 air-mile radius exemption
  • Drivers operating a CMV manufactured before 2000
  • Drivers operating a CMV in a driveaway-towaway operation
  • Drivers not operating more than eight days within any 30-day period
  • Authorized emergency vehicles

The deadline to comment on the proposal is Dec. 19.

Federal ELD regulations were under review for possible changes this fall. That public comment period closed Nov. 15.

McCraren Compliance can help you understand and comply with FMCSA, USDOT and ADOT and ensure your drivers and your vehicles operate safely and efficiently.

Call us Today at 888-758-4757 or email us at info@mccrarencompliance.com to schedule your free FMCSA Compliance Assessment.

USDOT Hosts Historic First Meeting of Women of Trucking Advisory Board

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Original article published by FMCSA

As part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s focus on helping improve the trucking industry, the Women of Trucking Advisory Board will offer new insights on how to get more women behind the wheel

WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) hosted the inaugural meeting of the Women of Trucking Advisory Board (WOTAB), where members discussed the results of a new FMCSA report on driver safety. The new Advisory Board, created by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, is composed of 16 founding members with diverse backgrounds in the industry, and is focused on recruiting, retaining, supporting, and ensuring the safety of women commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers and strengthening the trucking industry as a whole. Collectively, WOTAB members have more than 80 years of driving experience with trucks, motorcoaches, and ports and more than 275 years in trucking and other modes of transportation. Currently, women make up just seven percent of all truck drivers on the road today.

“Truck drivers are the lifeblood of American supply chains, yet at a time when America needs truck drivers more than ever and can’t afford to leave any talent on the table, women are still vastly underrepresented in the industry,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who kicked off the first Women of Trucking Advisory Board meeting. “Everyone deserves to feel safe in the workplace, and we’re grateful to this first Women of Trucking Advisory Board for helping address safety and other industry challenges to ensure these good, vital careers are accessible to all.”

“Safety is FMCSA’s number one priority, and all truckers should feel safe in this industry,” said FMCSA Administrator Robin Hutcheson. “It’s so important to have a diverse board of women trucking professionals who will help make the industry safer and a more appealing career option not only to women but to everyone who has been underrepresented in the industry.”

FMCSA conducted its survey, Crime Prevention for Truckers, to better understand the nature and prevalence of harassment and assaults against truckers, specifically women and minorities. The report details harassment, threats of harm, or actual physical harm perpetrated against truckers, their possessions, vehicles, or cargo.

The survey found that female truck drivers are exposed to more sexual harassment at their companies or by their trainers than their male counterparts.  In addition, roughly half of the harassment incidents go unreported due to concerns that reporting the incident would not make a difference.

The Women of Trucking Advisory Board will use the results of this survey and other data, as well as the firsthand experience of its 16 women members, to make recommendations and discuss the next steps regarding the findings on harassment, assaults, and crimes being committed against women truckers.

“The survey information will contribute to better understanding obstacles to joining the industry, and to implementing best practices moving forward. Addressing the results and recommendations of the study will be the first of many opportunities for WOTAB to make an impact,” said Administrator Hutcheson.

President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law created the Advisory Board to review and report on policies that provide education, training, mentorship, and outreach to women in the trucking industry and identify barriers and industry trends that directly or indirectly discourage women from pursuing and retaining careers in trucking.

WOTAB is part of the Biden Administration’s Trucking Action Plan that is focused both on recruiting and retaining more drivers. In addition to WOTAB, DOT is also undergoing a driver compensation study, establishing a truck leasing task force, working with the U.S. Department of Labor to establish more driver apprenticeship programs, providing more funding to make Commercial Driver’s License processing more efficient, and more.

Read more about the WOTAB here.

McCraren Compliance can help you understand and comply with FMCSA, USDOT and ADOT and ensure your drivers and your vehicles operate safely and efficiently.

Call us Today at 888-758-4757 or email us at info@mccrarencompliance.com to schedule your free FMCSA Compliance Assessment.