Tag: #trucktransportation

FMCSA final rule scales back scope of regulatory relief during emergencies

Posted on by McCraren Compliance

Washington — Temporary hours-of-service exemptions and other regulatory relief for truckers during regional emergency declarations will be limited under a recently published Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration final rule.

Published Oct. 13 and set to go into effect Dec. 12, the rule:

  • Modifies the definition of “emergency” to clarify that emergency regulatory relief doesn’t apply to economic conditions caused by market forces, including material/supply shortages, labor strikes or driver shortages.
  • Removes the definition of “emergency relief” and amends the definition of “direct assistance” to adopt the vital components of the former definition of “emergency relief.”
  • Exempts drivers and motor carriers for 14 days – down from 30 – during regional emergency declarations issued by a governor, governor’s representative or FMCSA, and applies exemptions only from certain HOS regulations.

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

FMCSA declared and extended emergency relief to truckers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In December, the agency solicited comments on a notice of proposed rulemaking.

“By limiting the scope,” FMCSA says, “today’s rule clarifies that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations not relevant to most emergency situations remain in effect while retaining the agency’s flexibility to tailor emergency regulatory relief to the specific circumstances of an emergency.”

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.

Original article published by Safety+Health an NSC publication

Safe parking one focus of $80 million in FMCSA grants

Posted on by McCraren Compliance

Trucks line up at a Port of Los Angeles gate. (photo courtesy of the Port of Los Angeles)

Washington — Improving truckers’ access to safe parking is one of the initiatives being funded by more than $80 million in high priority grants from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

The grant program provides funding for activities and projects aimed at strengthening trucking safety by way of the Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program, as well as innovative technology, research and other projects. State and local governments, Native American tribes, political jurisdictions, nonprofit organizations, and institutions of higher education are among the groups eligible for funding.

The grant initiatives include a 65% increase in funding from last year for truck parking projects, as well as providing dynamic message signage – intended to help truck drivers locate open parking spaces in rest areas – along highways in Delaware, Indiana and Kentucky.

Other projects awarded grants include:

  • Research to support automated, location-based driver alerts via electronic logging devices that inform drivers of upcoming work zones
  • Enhancement of electronic screening technologies to detect vehicle violations, including automated license plate readers, U.S. Department of Transportation number readers, tire monitoring system, and hazardous material placard readers

“We depend on truck drivers every day, and we have a national responsibility to support their safety and job quality,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a press release. “Today, we are proud to deliver new funding that will improve safety on our nation’s roads.”

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.

Original article published by Safety+Health an NSC publication

FMCSA considering revisions to safety fitness determinations

Posted on by McCraren Compliance

Photo Missouri DOT

Washington — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is asking for input on a possible new methodology for determining whether motor carriers are fit to operate safely.

The agency’s safety fitness determination process uses existing motor carrier data and data collected during compliance reviews to form a three-tiered rating system of satisfactory, conditional or unsatisfactory. In a notice published Aug. 29, the agency asks for stakeholder feedback on potential revisions to the process.

“The intended effect of this action is to more effectively use FMCSA data and resources to identify unfit motor carriers and to remove them from the nation’s roadways,” the notice states. “A successful SFD methodology may target metrics that are most directly connected to safety outcomes, provide for accurate identification of unsafe motor carriers and incentivize the adoption of safety-improving practices.”

FMCSA is seeking input on:

  • The need for a rulemaking to revise the regulations prescribing the safety fitness determination process.
  • Available science or technical information to analyze regulatory alternatives for determining the safety fitness of motor carriers.
  • Current agency safety fitness determination regulations, including feedback on the process and impacts.
  • Available data and costs for regulatory alternatives reasonably likely to be considered.

Additionally, the agency requests input on 12 specific questions related to safety fitness determinations, including whether to retain the three-tiered rating system.

FMCSA notes in the notice that its safety fitness determination system “is resource-intensive and reaches only a small percentage of motor carriers.” In fiscal year 2019, the agency and state partners conducted fewer than 12,000 compliance reviews among a population of more than 567,000 interstate motor carriers.

Comments are due Oct. 30.

McCraren Compliance offers many opportunities in safety training to help circumvent accidents. Please take a moment to visit our calendar of classes to see what we can do to help your safety measures from training to consulting.

Original article published by Safety+Health an NSC publication

NIOSH video tells truckers about safe transfer of process fluids

Posted on by McCraren Compliance
Original article published by Safety+Health
safe-work-practice.jpg
Photo: NIOSH

Washington — A new video emphasizes safe work practices for truck drivers transferring process fluids such as oil and gas from wells to other locations.

Developed by NIOSH, the video notes that from 2016 to 2020, at least 12 workers died while transferring fluids at well sites. The deaths resulted from cardiac events, combustion-related explosions, struck-by vehicle incidents, exposure to hydrogen sulfide and heatstroke.

During fluid transfers, flammable atmospheres present a hazard to workers, the agency warns. In addition, when fluid tanks are under pressure, hydrocarbon gases and vapors can escape, creating potentially toxic and oxygen-deficient surroundings that may cause damage to a worker’s eyes, lungs, central nervous system and heart.

In the 11-minute video, NIOSH encourages employers to select and implement effective controls from the Hierarchy of Controls. Engineering controls include safely venting or containing process fluid vapors by using a vapor recovery unit, as well as using conducting hoses and closed connections for fluid transfers. Administrative controls include worker training and workplace policies. Employers also should train workers on the proper use of personal, multiuse gas monitors and how to confirm the devices are functioning properly and placed within the worker’s breathing zone.

“Oil and process fluids can be transferred and transported safely and with minimal risks,” the video says. “But to do so, employers and workers must understand the hazards, know the risks, and be able to apply the appropriate controls under the appropriate circumstances to control the hazards and mitigate the risks involved. Doing so each time will save lives.”

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.

Pilot program will allow CDL holders younger than 21 to drive trucks across state lines

Posted on by McCraren Compliance

First published by Safety+Health an NSC publication

Washington — Commercial motor vehicle drivers younger than 21 will be allowed to operate interstate under an apprenticeship pilot program established by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, signed into law Nov. 15 by President Joe Biden.

Lawmakers have tried to establish the employer-based program via standalone congressional bills a combined four times, including legislation introduced this past March in the House (H.R. 1745) and Senate (S. 659). Those bills were known as the Developing Responsible Individuals for a Vibrant Economy Act, or DRIVE Safe Act. None of the previous bills made it out of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee or the House Highways and Transit Subcommittee.

Forty-nine states and the District of Columbia have allowed 18- to 20-year-olds to obtain commercial drivers’ licenses and operate large commercial vehicles. Those drivers, however, weren’t permitted to operate across state lines, even to cross the Ohio River from New Albany, IN, to Louisville, KY, as noted by Rep. Trey Hollingsworth (R-IN) in a March press release. That same driver, though, could travel 260 miles from New Albany to South Bend, IN.

Under the law, participants in the apprenticeship program must complete at least 400 hours of on-duty time and 240 hours of driving time accompanied by an experienced driver. That driver can’t be younger than 26 years old, must have held a CDL for at least two years, must have driven a CMV for at least five years in interstate commerce, and must not have had any “preventable accidents” or pointed moving violations.

Additionally, an apprentice can drive only CMVs that have an automatic or automatic manual transmission, an active braking collision mitigation system, a forward-facing video event capture system, and a governed speed of 65 mph – either at the pedal or via adaptive cruise control.

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.