Tag: #truckparking

House committee advances truck parking act and other bills

Posted on by McCraren Compliance

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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ATRI Releases New Research Priorities for 2023

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Original article published by ATRI

Photo: truckingresearch.org

Washington, DC – At its mid-year meeting in Florida, the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) Board of Directors approved the 2023 Top Research Priorities, as identified by ATRI’s Research Advisory Committee (RAC). ATRI’s RAC identified and prioritized the list of recommended research topics at its annual RAC meeting held in Atlanta March 14-15.  The ATRI Board, led by ATRI Chair Derek Leathers of Werner Enterprises, reviewed and approved the research topics on May 5.

ATRI’s RAC selected a diverse set of research priorities designed to address some of the industry’s most critical issues.

The 2023 ATRI top research priorities are:

Expanding Truck Parking at Public Rest Areas.  The lack of available truck parking is perennially ranked by drivers as their top concern.  This research will identify and map truck driver needs to rest stop attributes, develop best practice case studies and utilize truck driver data to identify strategies for expanding truck parking capacity available at public rest areas.

Identifying Barriers to Entry for Female Truck Drivers.  Female truck drivers represent less than 10 percent of the truck driver workforce, yet ATRI research documents that female drivers are safer than their male counterparts.  This research will identify gender issues and proactive steps that the industry can take to make truck driving careers more appealing to women.

Complete Streets Impact on Freight Mobility.  Complete Streets is a U.S. DOT program designed to make transportation accessible for all users, including pedestrians, bicyclists and transit riders.  However, planning decisions to deploy complete streets often negatively impact freight transportation and those who rely on truck-delivered goods.  This study will quantify these impacts and recommend approaches for transportation planners to better facilitate freight movement.

Examining the Diesel Technician Shortage.  The industry’s challenges in recruiting and retaining technicians is often cited as being as critical as the driver shortage.  This research will work with government and industry to identify the factors underlying the shortage, including mapping career attributes to workforce needs, and assessing high school-level vocational training availability, industry recruitment practices and competing career opportunities.

The Cost of Driver Detention.  Truck drivers and motor carriers consistently rank driver detention at customer facilities as a top industry concern.  This research, supported by shipper groups, will include quantitative data collection to identify detention impacts, costs, and strategies for minimizing detention.

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 direct federal funds toward safe parking for truckers

Posted on by McCraren Compliance

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.

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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.

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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.

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Trucking survey asks: What are the industry’s top concerns?

Posted on by McCraren Compliance

First published by Safety+Health an NSC publication

Photo property of FMCSA

Arlington, VA — Trucking industry stakeholders are encouraged to help identify the most critical issues facing the industry by participating in an annual survey conducted by the American Transportation Research Institute.

Respondents are asked to rank their top three issues from a selection of 28. The list includes:

Respondents can submit additional concerns not on the list, as well as suggest potential strategies for addressing each issue.

The survey results will be used to help ATRI, the research arm of the American Trucking Associations, develop possible strategies for the concerns.

“The annual Top Industry Issues Survey has long been a crucial part of understanding the issues facing our country’s supply chain,” ATA Chair Harold Sumerford Jr. said in a press release. “ATRI’s research provides a chance for thousands of trucking industry professionals, from drivers to executives, to weigh in on the most important topics that affect trucking and collectively decide on the best strategies for addressing each.”

The deadline to complete the survey is Oct. 7. Survey results are slated to be released Oct. 22 during the 2022 ATA Management Conference and Exhibition in San Diego.

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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Safe truck parking: FMCSA’s Hutcheson says federal agencies will team up to ease shortage

Posted on by McCraren Compliance
First published by Safety+Health an NSC publication

trucks-rest-area.jpg

Photo: Missouri Department of Transportation

Louisville, KY — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is “really feeling the urgency” to address a national shortage of safe parking spots for truckers who need to comply with federally mandated rest breaks, acting agency administrator Robin Hutcheson said March 24 during a media roundtable at the Mid-America Trucking Show.

A report published on the same day in the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association’s Land Line magazine notes that Hutcheson called the issue “one of the top two or three” FMCSA hears about, adding that the message has “gone to the top of the U.S. government.”

Federal hours-of-service regulations require truck drivers to park and rest after being on duty for long periods. In a letter sent to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Feb. 18, American Trucking Associations President and CEO Chris Spear and OOIDA President and CEO Todd Spencer call on the Department of Transportation to prioritize funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to address the issue.

“We know we need to work on this,” Hutcheson said during the roundtable, according to the report. “We know this needs to be addressed. We hear over and over again, ‘I would be a safer driver if I had a place to rest.’ That’s up to us to make sure we’re focusing on that and doing everything we can.”

She added that FMCSA will collaborate with the Federal Highway Administration to remedy the issue. She identified as first steps examining available funding for additional truck parking and ensuring state freight plans include truck parking needs.

During a March 2 hearing before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Buttigieg testified that DOT is “very concerned” about the lack of truck parking, calling it an issue of convenience, safety and emissions. He suggested state DOTs might consider pursuing funding for truck parking from the:

In another update from the roundtable, reported March 28 by Overdrive magazine, Hutcheson said an apprenticeship pilot program that would allow commercial motor vehicle drivers younger than 21 to drive trucks across state lines won’t begin “until late summer, at the earliest.”

Hutcheson said the program, established by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, needs a more secure “data collection methodology” before it can be implemented.

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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Trucking groups to CDC: Truck stops, travel plazas should be vaccination sites

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First published by Safety+Health an NSC publication.

travel plazas should be vaccination sites

Alexandria, VA — A coalition of trucking-related groups, including the American Trucking Associations and an association that represents truck stop owners, is urging the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to designate truck stops and travel plazas as mobile COVID-19 vaccination sites to help “alleviate significant challenges that truck drivers currently face in receiving an expedient vaccine.”

In a letter dated Feb. 25 and sent to CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, ATA, NATSO – formerly known as the National Association of Truck Stop Operators – and others contend truck drivers “should be allowed to receive a vaccine in a state other than that within which they reside due to their length of time on the road and away from home.”

The coalition also requests that drivers be allowed to receive a second dose of a vaccine at a different location, if needed.

“It is improbable that they would have the ability to return to the primary vaccination site on a specific date or time,” the letter states. “By administering vaccines through our nationwide network of locations, we can ensure the ability of our employees and the nation’s truck drivers to continue serving on the front lines of the fuel and food distribution systems across the country.

“Furthermore, by vaccinating truck stop employees, we can amplify the breadth and scope of vaccination deployment across the communities in which we operate. It is imperative that we protect those who are delivering critical supplies – including the vaccine – throughout the country.”

The coalition also includes the Truckload Carriers Association, National Private Truck Council, National Association of Small Trucking Companies, St. Christopher Truckers Relief Fund, and National Tank Truck Carriers.

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

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