Tag: #trucking

FMCSA advisory committee to meet in June

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Original article published by Safety+Health

Photo: FMCSA

Washington — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee has scheduled virtual meetings for June 6-7.

According to a notice published in the May 18 Federal Register, the meetings will start at 9:30 a.m. The agenda includes briefings:

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House committee advances truck parking act and other bills

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Original article published by Safety+Health

Photo: Missouri Department of Transportation

Washington — The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee approved the Truck Parking Safety Improvement Act, along with 16 other bills, during a May 23 markup.

Introduced by Rep. Mike Bost (R-IL), the act (H.R. 2367) would empower the transportation secretary to issue grants for projects that create truck parking. It also would allow for expanded parking at current truck parking areas and prohibit charging drivers for any parking spaces created under the act.

“I grew up in a family trucking business,” Bost said in a committee press release. “I understand how difficult, and oftentimes dangerous, it can be when America’s truckers are forced to park in an unsafe location. By expanding access to parking options for truckers, we are making our roads safer for all commuters and ensuring goods and supplies are shipped to market in the most efficient way possible. This is a matter of public safety, and I’m proud to have led on this important legislation.”

Among the other bills approved:

  • The Licensing Individual Commercial Exam-takers Now Safely and Efficiently (LICENSE) Act of 2023 (H.R. 3013), which would direct the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to revise federal regulations on state or third-party administration of commercial driver’s license knowledge tests. In addition, states or third parties would be allowed to administer driving tests regardless of which state an applicant lives in or where they received driver training.
  • The Motor Carrier Safety Selection Standard Act (H.R. 915), which would direct FMCSA “to develop a new safety fitness determination process to change the way a motor carrier is rated.”
  • H.R. 3372, which would establish voluntary 10-year pilot programs for states to increase truck weights on federal interstates to 91,000 pounds on six axles.

The committee postponed its consideration of the Developing Responsible Individuals for a Vibrant Economy (DRIVE) Safe Integrity Act (H.R. 3408) – a bill concerning a pilot program for 18- to 20-year-old interstate truck and bus drivers. The status of the bill is undetermined for future markups.

All 17 of the bills passed by the committee now go before the full House.

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

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Bill would halt FMCSA’s movement on speed limiters

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Original article published by Safety+Health

Photo: Missouri Department of Transportation Flickr

Washington — Legislation recently introduced in the House would prohibit the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration from requiring speed-limiting devices on large trucks and buses.

Sponsored by Rep. Josh Brecheen (R-OK), the Deregulating Restrictions on Interstate Vehicles and Eighteen-Wheelers, or DRIVE, Act (H.R. 3039) covers trucks, buses and multipurpose passenger vehicles weighing more than 26,000 pounds.

Brecheen is a fourth-generation rancher and former trucking company operator. “I know from experience driving a semi while hauling equipment, and years spent hauling livestock, that the flow of traffic set by state law is critical for safety instead of an arbitrary one-size-fits-all speed limit imposed by some bureaucrat sitting at his desk in Washington, D.C.,” he said in a press release.

In May 2022, FMCSA published an advance notice of supplemental proposed rulemaking that expands on a 2016 joint proposal from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and FMCSA that would require speed limiters. FMCSA is the lone agency listed on the proposal, which doesn’t specify a top speed. The 2016 proposal suggested capping speeds at 60, 65 or 68 mph.

The Department of Transportation’s Fall 2022 regulatory agenda lists June as a target date for publication of a second proposed rule.

Multiple industry groups back Breechen’s bill, including the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, the U.S. Cattlemen’s Association, and the Towing and Recovery Association of America. The American Trucking Associations, meanwhile, supports FMCSA’s proposal and recommends a recurring, five-year review of “speed-governing regulations” to ensure they remain consistent with current technology.

“These efforts to prohibit the development of safety policies are misguided,” Bill Sullivan, executive vice president of advocacy at ATA, said in a press release. “They will lead to more serious crashes – and this bill will never become law, even if it passes the House.”

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

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Organization aims for global standards for fleet safety technologies

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Original article published by Safety+Health

Photo: FMCSA

New York — The drive is on to unify fleet safety standards worldwide.

Nongovernmental organization Together for Safer Roads recently launched its Fleet Trucking Global Safety Standards initiative, an endeavor that seeks to “establish industry standards for fundamental safety instruments” and technologies – “directly contributing to safer roads for all.”

Those instruments and technologies include telematics, automatic braking, airbags, side-curtain airbags, side-view mirrors and seat belts.

“Fleet safety experts report that despite the ubiquity of these safety instruments, fleet operators lack a unifying standard to inform the purchase of the ‘right’ vehicle safety instrument for both new vehicles and the retrofitting of existing ones,” TSR says. “Those standards that do exist are either often inaccessible or not useful to guide purchasing and operations decisions.”

TSR, which views the initiative as “a transformative opportunity to promote change,” unveiled it ahead of the seventh annual United Nations Global Road Safety Week. A project of the UN in collaboration with partners including the World Health Organization, the event is set for May 15-21 and is part of a goal to reduce road traffic deaths and injuries by half by 2030.

“The new Fleet Trucking Global Safety Standards Initiative aligns directly with the UN’s Vision Zero goals and should be supported by fleet truck operators around the world,” TSR board member Richard Kent said in a May 8 press release. “We invite businesses, governments and organizations around the world to join us in this important work.”

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

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FMCSA Forms New Task Force to Combat Predatory Leasing Practices

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Original article published by FMCSA

WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced the nine members who will serve on the Truck Leasing Task Force (TLTF) chartered by Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. TLTF will evaluate lease agreements in the industry and their potential safety and financial impacts on owner-operators.  TLTF is established as a statutory committee under the authority of Section 23009 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), Pub. L. 117-58 (2021), in accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), as amended, 5 U.S.C. App. 2.

TLTF will address areas that have long needed intense focus. It will be tasked with providing best practices to assist drivers in assessing the impacts of a leasing agreement prior to entering into such agreement and recommendations on changes to laws to promote fair leasing agreements. TLTF’s work will contribute to FMCSA’s efforts to ensure that drivers have access to fair leasing agreements.

“At a time when our country needs truck drivers more than ever, we must do everything we can to support the men and women who work in this vital industry,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “The Truck Leasing Task Force is taking a hard look at leasing agreements as part of our effort to ensure every truck driver in this country has good working conditions and can make a good living.”

Truck leasing is an important step that many owner-operators in the trucking industry take to get started in the business. Leases that contain terms that are inequitable to drivers may discourage safe drivers from continuing to work in the industry.

TLTF members include representatives from labor organizations, motor carriers, consumer protection groups, owner-operators, and other businesses, as well as attorneys and educators.

The nine members who will serve on FMCSA’s Truck Leasing Task Force are:

  • Tamara Brock, Brock Logistics, LLC and Lewis & Lewis Logistics, LLC (Independent Owner-Operator)
  • Paul Cullen, The Cullen Law Firm, PLLC (Attorney)
  • Troy Hawkins, TTOH Consulting & Logistics, LLC (Independent Owner-Operator)
  • Jim Jefferson, Owner-Operator Independent Driver Association (Consumer Protection)
  • Joshua Krause, OTR Leasing, LLC (Business)
  • Kaitlyn Long, International Brotherhood of Teamsters (Labor Organization)
  • Steve Rush, Carbon Express Inc. (Carrier)
  • Lesley Tse, Animal Defense Partnership, Inc. (Attorney)
  • Steve Viscelli, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania (Economic Sociologist)

“The Truck Leasing Task Force addresses one of trucking’s great challenges. Leasing can have a major impact on people choosing trucking as their career, and protecting drivers is of the utmost importance,” says FMCSA Administrator Robin Hutcheson.  “FMCSA is committed to addressing issues that may impact the recruitment and retention of drivers in the trucking industry.”

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

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FMCSA wants to expand Crash Preventability Determination Program

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Original article published by Safety+Health

Washington — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is seeking comment on potentially expanding a program intended to determine to what extent crashes involving commercial trucks and buses are preventable.

Adjusting the Crash Preventability Determination Program would help FMCSA “review even more crashes each year,” the agency says in a notice published in the April 13 Federal Register. “The use of more preventability information in assessing motor carriers will provide an improved indication of a motor carrier’s crash risk.”

FMCSA established the program in May 2020. The agency reviews crashes classified under 16 types while modifying information in its Safety Measurement System to delineate non-preventable crashes.

The proposal would add four new crash types:

  • Commercial motor vehicles struck on the side by a driver operating in the same direction
  • CMVs struck because another driver was entering the roadway from a private driveway or parking lot
  • CMVs struck because another driver lost control of their vehicle
  • Any other type of crash involving a CMV in which video demonstrates the sequence of events

Additionally, FMCSA wants to modify 11 existing crash types “to broaden” them and “allow more crashes to be eligible.” The proposed changes would double the program’s size, FMCSA says.

Between May 1, 2020, and Dec. 30, FMCSA received more than 39,000 requests for data review, the notice states. About 72.5% of the requests fell under an existing category, with approximately 96% of crashes classified as “not preventable.”

Comments on the proposal are due June 12.

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

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Staying Vigilant on Drug Testing

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Original article published by Transport Topics

Evidence Shows It’s Not a Time for Employers to Relax

As state laws and societal attitudes shift regarding recreational and medical marijuana use nationwide, employers in some fields are re-evaluating workplace drug testing. At the same time, however, this heightened attention on marijuana use is spurring new research into its impacts on health and safety. The emerging evidence propels an argument that employers — particularly in the transportation sector — should stay vigilant.

The history of workplace drug testing for safety-sensitive professions isn’t particularly long. More than 35 years ago, Congress and regulatory bodies, including the U.S. Department of Transportation, reacted swiftly after it was found that the crew on an Amtrak train that was involved in a fatal crash — one that killed 16 and injured 174 — had tested positive for marijuana. In the aftermath, federal mandatory drug screenings for employees in safety-sensitive industries were authorized, including trucking and others regulated by DOT. About a year later, President Ronald Reagan signed the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988.

Over the years since, Quest Diagnostics has been reporting on drug use trends via its Drug Testing Index, and has produced a series of reports providing insight into workforce drug use based on positivity rates of de-identified laboratory tests for a range of drugs.

While there fortunately hasn’t been another deadly incident on the scale of the Amtrak crash, there are warning signs that drug misuse is as dangerous as ever. In 2021, overall results of the DTI illustrated that the rate of positive drug tests among America’s workforce has reached its highest since 2001, up more than 30% from an all-time low in 2010.

Specifically, the report revealed several notable trends, like higher rates of positivity in individuals tested after on-the-job accidents. In both the general U.S. data and federally mandated workforces, the increase in positivity rates on post-accident tests for marijuana has outpaced those in pre-employment tests.

Marijuana positivity rates have also reached a 20-year high. In the general U.S. workforce, urine tests for marijuana saw an 8.3% increase, the highest positivity rate ever reported in the DTI.

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Bill would direct federal funds toward safe parking for truckers

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Original article published by Safety+Health

Photo: ATRI

Washington — Bipartisan legislation recently reintroduced in the House and Senate aims to address a nationwide shortage of safe places for truck drivers to park and rest.

Federal hours-of-service regulations require truck drivers to take breaks after being behind the wheel for long periods. A lack of safe parking areas 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. 1034 and H.R. 2367) would empower the transportation secretary to issue grants for projects that create truck parking, including $175 million for fiscal year 2024 and a combined $580 million over the next two fiscal years.

Sens. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) and Mark Kelly (D-AZ) introduced the Senate version of the bill, while Reps. Mike Bost (R-IL) and Angie Craig (D-MN) introduced the bill’s companion in the House.

“I grew up in a family trucking business,” Bost said in a March 29 press release. “I understand how difficult, and oftentimes dangerous, it can be when America’s truckers are forced to push that extra mile in search of a safe place to park. By expanding access to parking options for truckers, we are making our roads safer for all commuters and ensuring goods and supplies are shipped to market in the most efficient way possible.

“This is a matter of public safety; and I’m committed to do all I can to drive this legislation over the finish line.”

In a separate press release, American Trucking Associations President and CEO Chris Spear calls the legislation “vital.”

“The lack of safe and accessible truck parking places an enormous and costly burden on our nation’s truck drivers as they work to deliver for the American people,” Spear said. “Given the chronic nature of this issue and its national scope, it is imperative Congress takes action to provide dedicated funding to expand commercial truck parking capacity.”

Lawmakers introduced similar bills in the previous session of Congress.

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.

Trucking safety advocates push for action on automatic braking and speed limiters

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Original article published by Safety+Health

Photo: FMCSA

Washington — The Truck Safety Coalition is calling on the Department of Transportation to make automatic emergency braking and speed-limiting devices a requirement on commercial trucks and buses.

In a letter sent to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, coalition President Tami Friedrich Trakh and representatives from nine other industry, labor and academic organizations contend “it is past time to issue essential and overdue truck safety standards,” including changes to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s hours-of-service rule for drivers.

The group points to the Feb. 3 train derailment and fire in East Palestine, OH, which involved the transportation of hazardous materials. “This similar scenario affects the safety of hundreds of thousands of hazardous materials shipments that move by truck every day through communities across the United States,” the letter states. “Government inaction and relentless opposition by special trucking interests puts the public at unnecessary and unreasonable risk of a deadly and dangerous crash.”

As mandated under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, FMCSA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are proceeding with proposed rulemaking concerning automatic emergency braking. DOT’s Fall 2022 regulatory agenda lists March as a target date for publication of a proposed rule “to require and/or standardize equipment performance” for AEB systems on heavy trucks.

Regarding speed limiters, the coalition asks for a federal mandate on the use of speed-limiting devices to cap commercial motor vehicle speeds at 60 mph because “speed kills.” In May, FMCSA published an advance notice of supplemental proposed rulemaking that expands on a 2016 joint proposal from NHTSA and FMCSA that would require speed-limiting devices on trucks, buses and multipurpose passenger vehicles weighing more than 26,000 pounds. FMCSA is the lone agency listed on the proposal, which doesn’t specify a top speed. The 2016 proposal suggested capping speeds at 60, 65 or 68 mph.

According to the regulatory agenda, FMCSA anticipates publishing a second notice of proposed rulemaking in June.

The letter also calls for the restoration of a 2011 final rule that preceded a controversial 2020 rule change that FMCSA claimed would add flexibility to hours-of-service regulations for commercial truck drivers. “We urge you to restore the 2011 rule immediately and require a 30-minute rest break after eight hours of driving that does not allow non-driving work,” the letter states. “Additionally, DOT should reinstitute the rulemaking requiring screening and treatment of safety-sensitive personnel for obstructive sleep apnea, something DOT already requires of air pilots.”

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

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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.

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