Hours of service
Happy July! A revised rule regarding hours of service is due at the end of this month. Stay tuned.
Listen up!
We’re proud to announce that our podcasts have been approved by Apple®. You can now find them in iTunes®. Enter BumperToBumper in the iTunes® search box and you’ll be taken to our page. There you can subscribe to our podcasts. You’ll be automatically notified when we post new ones. Once in iTunes, you can leave comments or suggestions for future podcasts and even rate our podcasts (please be kind!).
You can also subscribe at our Web site, www.bumper2bumpertruckbook.com, or at this site. Just go to the Free Stuff page and click on the orange-and-white RSS Feed logo. You can leave comments or suggestions there, too.
Roadcheck 2010
This year’s Commercial Vehicle Safety Administration Roadcheck inspection s have been rescheduled from June 1-3 to June 8-10. For more information about CVSA RoadCheck 2010, visit http://www.cvsa.org/programs/int_roadcheck.aspx
Distracted driving
University of Utah psychologists David Strayer and Jason Watson in a driving simulator they use to study how cellular phones and texting distract drivers. (Photo credit: Valoree Dowell, University of Utah
A study by University of Utah psychologists found that very few people can drive well while talking on a cell phone, even if they’re using a hands-free device. Jason Watson and David Strayer studied 200 people on a driving simulator. Only 2.5 percent could talk on a cell phone while operating a driving simulator without noticeable impairment.
For the complete story, see http://www.eurekalert.org/
pub_releases/2010-03/uou-fdw032610.php
CSA 2010 update
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced the availability of the Comprehensive Safety Analysis (CSA) 2010 Data Preview, which will allow individual motor carriers to review their safety performance data by the CSA 2010 Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASICs). The Data Preview begans on April 12, 2010 and ends on November 30, 2010, the national launch date for the CSA 2010 safety enforcement program.
During the data preview period, motor carriers are encouraged to closely examine their performance data and immediately address any safety problems. This is also an opportunity for motor carriers to update and verify their safety performance data online. This allows motor carriers to identify and address unsafe behaviors that can lead to crash risk. It also underscores FMCSA’s commitment to data integrity and the motor carrier industry’s responsibility for ensuring commercial vehicle safety.
Complete details on the Data Preview and the CSA 2010 implementation schedule are published in the Federal Register. The CSA 2010 implementation schedule supports the critical importance of incorporating the findings from over 30 months of operational model testing in nine CSA 2010 pilot states.
Proposed new rule
Your comments are invited on amendments to a notice of proposed rulemaking. The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration is considering amendments to the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR) as they apply to the transportation of combustible liquids. Specifically, PHMSA is considering whether to harmonize the
domestic regulations applicable to the transportation of combustible liquids with international transportation standards. In addition, they are examining ways to revise, clarify, or relax certain regulatory requirements to facilitate the transportation of these materials while maintaining an adequate level of safety.
Your comments must be received by July 6, 2010. Submit comments by any of the following methods:
- Web Site: http://dms/dot/gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments on the DOT electronic docket site.
- Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
- Mail: Docket Management System; U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590-0001.
- Hand Delivery: To the Docket Management System; U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590-0001 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
You must include the agency name and docket number PHMSA-2009-0241 (HM-242) or the Regulatory Identification Number (RIN) 2137-AE52 for this notice at the beginning of your comment. Note that all comments received will be posted without change to http://dms.dot.gov including any personal information provided. Persons wishing to receive confirmation of receipt of their comments must include a self-addressed stamped postcard or access the Web site at http://dms.dot.gov.
For further details, check out http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/2010-7544.htm. Or, contact Helen L. Engrum, Office of Hazardous Materials Standards, telephone (202) 366-8553, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., East Building, 2nd Floor, PHH-10,
Washington, DC 20590-0001.
CSA 2011?
CSA 2010 is starting to look more like CSA 2011. Several sources report that full implementation could come a little later than the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration had originally planned. The FMCSA originally was to begin implementing Comprehensive Safety Analysis 2010 in July and to have all states fully functional by December. While certain phases of CSA 2010 will begin this fall, full implementation will not be completed until spring or perhaps summer of 2011. A Federal Register notice of the exact timeline is expected to be released soon, according to reports.
Distracted driving
Guess we knew this was coming!
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) proposes to prohibit texting by commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers while operating in interstate commerce and to impose sanctions, including civil penalties and disqualification from operating CMVs in interstate commerce, for drivers who fail to comply with this rule.
Additionally, motor carriers would be prohibited from requiring or allowing their drivers to engage in texting while driving. FMCSA also proposes amendments to its commercial driver’s license (CDL) regulations to add to the list of disqualifying offenses a conviction under State or local laws, regulations, or ordinances that prohibit texting by CDL drivers while operating a CMV, including school bus drivers.
FMCSA is inviting comments on this proposed rulemaking. Comments and related material must be received on or before May 3, 2010. Of course we’d love to see your comments on this blog. But they’ll be most effective if you submit them to the FMCSA. You may submit comments identified by docket number FMCSA-2009-0370 using any one of the following methods:
- Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
- Fax: 202-493-2251.
- Mail: Docket Management Facility (M-30), U.S. Department of Transportation, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New
Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590-0001. - Hand delivery: Same as mail address above, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The telephone number is 202-366-9329.
To avoid duplication, please use only one of these four methods.
If you have questions about this proposed rule, contact Mr. Brian Routhier, Transportation Specialist, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Vehicle and Roadside Operation Division, at 202-366-1225 or Brian.Routhier@dot.gov.
Stopping distance
The National Highway Transportation Safety Administation has amended a 2009 final rule having to do with federal motor vehicle safety standards for air brake systems and stopping distance. Check out the amendment to FMVSS No. 121, S5 and the title heading of Table IIa. The word “drive” has been aded to the term “rear axles” to make the rule read “rear drive axles.” For details, read http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/2010-7132.htm.
Distracted driving
U.S Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today announced federal guidance to expressly prohibit texting by drivers of commercial vehicles such as large trucks and buses. The prohibition is effective immediately and is the latest in a series of actions taken by the Department to combat distracted driving since the Secretary convened a national summit on the issue last September. The regulatory guidance on today’s announcement will be on public display in the Federal Register January 26 and will appear in print in the Federal Register on January 27.
