Hours of service
Happy July! A revised rule regarding hours of service is due at the end of this month. Stay tuned.
Do tell!
Writer Annie Wilder is looking for your stories. She asked that we pass along this request:
Truckers, former truckers, friends/spouses/neighbors of truckers, truck stop employees, diesel mechanics ~ got a true ghost story or unexplained paranormal experience to share? I’m looking for true personal experiences and also legends of the road (for example, a strip of highway where weird stuff is rumored to happen,…… etc.) for a book and television show. Contributors may use a pen name. Will also consider ghost stories from the road from non-truckers. For more information, visit my website or email Annie Wilder at: truckerghoststories@yahoo.com.
Deadline is June 12, 2010 so get your stories to Annie right away.
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
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.
EOBRs – final rule
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has posted a final rule regarding electronic onboard recorders (EOBRs). Onboard hours-of-service recording devices meeting FMCSA’s current requirements and installed in commercial motor vehicles manufactured before June 4, 2012 may continue to be used for the remainder of the service life of those CMVs. However, motor carriers that have demonstrated serious noncompliance with the HOS rules will be subject to mandatory installation of EOBRs meeting the new performance standards. This final rule is effective on June 4, 2010.
For further details, check out http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/2010-6747.htm
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.
Haz mat fees increasing
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration is amending the statutorily mandated registration and fee assessment program for persons who transport, or offer for transportation, certain categories and quantities of hazardous materials. For those registrants not qualifying as a small business or not-for-profit organization, PHMSA is increasing the annual fee from $975 (plus a $25 administrative fee) to $2,575 (plus a $25 administrative fee) for registration year 2010-2011 and following years. The increase is necessary to fund the national Hazardous Materials Emergency Preparedness (HMEP) grants program. The effective date of this final rule is April 29, 2010. For details, see http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/2010-7035.htm
Truck parking
The shortage of long-term truck parking on the National Highway System (NHS) is a problem that needs to be addressed. It is nationally recognized that truck drivers frequently cannot find adequate, safe parking in order to obtain rest needed to comply with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations and ensure safety. Further, parking areas are often designed or maintained for short-term parking only, and as a result, allow parking for limited time periods. The Federal Highway Administration is collecting information necessary to evaluate and rank projects to address the parking issue. To find out more or to comment, go to http://www.regulations.gov and refer to DOT Docket ID Number FHWA-2010-0005.
