Hours of service under fire
The American Trucking Assocations have filed a petition with the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia asking the court to review the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s latest final rule for hours of service for commercial motor vehicle drivers. Read the complete press release here.
Encore!
We’re honored that the Devine News has requested to reprint the blog we posted yesterday to EagleFordShale.com about how to get a commercial driver’s license. We hope this will help lots of potential new drivers to get a CDL and a great job in the oilfield.
New HOS
Looks like the latest final rule for new Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations on hours of service may stick. Landline Magazine reports that parties in the most recent lawsuit challenging the regulation have agreed to dismiss the lawsuit. However, that doesn’t mean that a new lawsuit won’t be filed, and it might. Numerous parties are still not happy with the 11th hour of driving.
SOPA and PIPA
In this space, usually we write about commercial cargo transport legislation. This is about another type of proposed regulation. Lots of Internet sites are blacked out today or otherwise participating in a protest against the proposed SOPA and PIPA legislations which have to do with the Internet. We’re all for intellectual property right protection but it appears that these regulations could too easily be misused and abused. You may want to take some time out today to read up on them and see what you think. Here’s one place to start: http://
Reminder: hang onto that paper
Here’s a reminder: the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will require until January 30, 2014 that interstate drivers subject to the commercial driver’s license (CDL) regulations and the Federal physical qualification requirements must retain paper copies of their medical examiner’s certificate. Interstate motor carriers are also required to retain copies of their drivers’ medical certificates in their driver qualification files. So if you go to renew, upgrade, transfer or otherwise change your license, after Jan. 30 you will have to provide proof of medical certification. Your state can decide if the medical examiner’s “long form” or the actual medical certificate will be required, so check with your state commercial driver licensing agency to see what you’ll need to bring.
Hours of service
The anticipated final rule on the hours of service has been published in the Federal Register. Read all about it here.
Cell phone ban update
The Federal Motor Ccarrier Safety Administration and Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration are amending the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) and the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR) to restrict the use of hand-held mobile telephones by drivers of commercial motor vehicles (CMVs). This rulemaking will improve safety on the Nation’s highways by reducing the prevalence of distracted driving-related crashes, fatalities, and injuries involving drivers of CMVs. The Agencies also amend their regulations to implement new driver disqualification sanctions for drivers of CMVs who fail to comply with this Federal restriction and new driver disqualification sanctions for commercial driver’s license (CDL) holders who have multiple convictions for violating a State or local law or ordinance on motor vehicle traffic control that restricts the use of hand-held mobile telephones. Additionally, motor carriers are prohibited from requiring or allowing drivers of CMVs to use hand-held mobile telephones. This rule is effective Jan. 3, 2012. For details, go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for the terms “FMCSA-2010-0096” or “PHMSA-2010-0227.”
HOS news
The final hours-of-service regulation is currently under review at the Office of Management and Budget. Landlinemag.com reports that in a Nov. 28 court filing, the agency states that it expects to issue the final rule within the next 30 days. The proposed HOS regs were released on Dec. 23, 2010.
Put down that phone!
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has announced a final rule specifically prohibiting interstate truck and bus drivers from using hand-held cell phones while operating their vehicles. The joint rule from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) is the latest action by the U.S. Department of Transportation to end distracted driving…click here for details.
CSA
The American Transportation Research Institute has released a report on the impacts of CSA (Compliance, Safety, Accountability) on the daily operations of motor carriers. Download it here. And be sure to view the presentation on CSA offered by David Saunders of Compliance Safety Systems. Find the link in our Nov. 16 post about the recent NAPFTDS regional conference.
