FMCSA Seeking Feedback on Pilot Program for Under-21, Military-Trained Truckers

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration proposed Aug. 19 a FAST Act-stipulated pilot program that will allow some under-21 truckers to operate across state lines, so long as they have military experience driving large vehicles.

Currently, under-21 CDL holders are restricted to intrastate driving.

The agency is seeking public comment for 30 days, starting Monday, before it launches the pilot program, which will allow a limited number of military-trained drivers between the ages of 18 and 21 to operate commercial motor vehicles in interstate commerce.

The drivers in the group, known as the study group, will have to be sponsored by a motor carrier participating in the program, FMCSA says, and their safety records will be recorded through the duration of the three-year pilot program.

After the three years, FMCSA will compare the safety records of the pilot group to the safety records of drivers who are 21 years old or older that have comparable training and experience in driving vehicles that require a commercial driver's license. These drivers will be part of the control group. The agency says the comparison of the two groups' safety records will help determine if age is a "critical safety factor."

For more information please visit: www.machineryhaulers.org
 
 TMHA Annual Winter Meeting Right Around the Corner!
Jumer's Casino and Hotel
777 Jumer Drive
Rock island , IIlinois 61201

With Fall quickly approaching, it's time get those calendars marked and your hotels booked for the Annual TMHA Winter Meeting on December 7th and 8th at Jumer's Casino and Hotel in Rock Island, Illinois. 

The TMHA Winter Meeting will begin Wednesday evening with a cocktail reception and a welcome dinner and then on Thursday morning the TMHA meeting will kick off featuring the informative general meeting and keynote speakers discussing a wide variety of topics. 

* A schedule of events will be forthcoming with the specifics regarding meeting speakers and topics.
Jumer's Casino and Hotel
777 Jumer Drive
Rock island , IIlinois 61201

Hotel  Accommodations  
Jumer's Casino and Hotel
777 Jumer Drive
Rock island , IIlinois 61201

Room Block Name:  Machinery Haulers Association
Room Block Dates: December 7th and 8th
Special Room Rates:  $89.99 (excluding tax) Reservations
Phone Number: 1 800-477-7747

TMHA members and all meeting attendees are responsible for making and for paying for their hotel accommodations.  Reservations after the deadline date will be accepted based on a space- and rate-available basis.

CVSA's 2016 Operation Safe Driver Week is Oct. 16-22

Law enforcement agencies throughout North America will engage in heightened traffic safety enforcement and education aimed at combating unsafe driving behaviors by commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers and passenger-vehicle (car) drivers as part of CVSA's Operation Safe Driver Week, Oct. 16-22, 2016.

Unsafe driver behaviors by CMV drivers and passenger-vehicle drivers continue to be the leading cause of crashes. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's (FMCSA) "Large Truck Crash Causation Study" cites driver behavior as the critical reason for more than 88 percent of large truck crashes and 93 percent of passenger-vehicle crashes. CVSA's Operation Safe Driver program was created to help to reduce the number of crashes, deaths and injuries involving large trucks, buses and cars due to unsafe driving behaviors. During Operation Safe Driver Week, there will be increased CMV and passenger vehicle traffic enforcement.

Examples of unsafe driver behaviors that enforcement will be tracking throughout Operation Safe Driver Week are speeding, failure to use a seatbelt while operating a CMV or in a passenger vehicle, distracted driving, failure to obey traffic control devices, traveling too closely, improper lane change, etc.

For more information please visit: www.machineryhaulers.org

SOURCE:  CVSA

FMCSA Begins Campaign for Better Driving Around Trucks


On August 11, 2016, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration launched a new campaign aimed at raising public awareness about how to drive around large trucks and buses.

Through the new campaign, dubbed " Our Roads, Our Responsibility ," FMCSA suggests several tips to motorists sharing the road with trucks. FMCSA's suggestions are as follows:
  • Stay out of the "no zones," or blind spots, around the front, back and sides of the vehicles
  • Pass safely and make sure you can see the driver in the mirror before passing
  • Don't cut it close while merging in front of a CMV
  • Anticipate wide turns and consider larger vehicles may require extra turning room
  • Stay focused on the road around you and avoid distraction
  • Be patient driving around large trucks and buses
For more information please visit: www.machineryhaulers.org

SOURCE: CCJ
Speed Limiter Mandate Clears Final Hurdle, Set for Publication


A proposed federal rule to require the use of speed limiters on heavy-duty trucks has cleared its final hurdle in the regulatory process and will likely be published in the coming weeks. The White House's Office of Management and Budget stamped its approval on the rule Aug. 12, according to the White House's online rulemaking portal.

The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking may now be published at the U.S. Department of Transportation's discretion. Rules are generally published in the weeks following their clerance of the OMB.  

The speed limiter rulemaking was initiated in March 2014, following a petition by the American Trucking Associations and Roadsafe America. ATA has said it asked the DOT to implement a 65 mph speed limit on trucks weighing more than 26,000 lbs.


For more information please visit:  www.machineryhaulers.org

SOURCE: CCJ 

ATA Releases Latest Edition of American Trucking Trends
 
The American Trucking Associations has released the latest edition of the leading almanac of trucking - ATA American Trucking Trends 2016 - showing the industry posted gains in employment, number of truck drivers and truck sales through 2015.

"In many ways, 2015 was a good year for our industry, and Trends clearly demonstrates that," said ATA President and CEO Chris Spear. "Trends provides indispensable information to trucking companies, industry suppliers, logistics providers, analysts, public policy decision makers, investors and many others. Information that is crucial to making sound decisions about the future."

"According to our data, trucking revenues topped $700 billion for a second straight year, setting an all-time record of $726.4 billion in 2015, while trucks moved more than 10 billion tons of freight," said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. "While the first half of 2016 has been challenging for the industry, trucking is coming off two very strong years and we are optimistic about the future."

Among the findings in this year's edition of Trends:
  • Trucking collected $726.4 billion in gross freight revenues, 81.5% of the nation's freight bill in 2015.
  • Trucks carried 10.49 tons of freight in 2015, accounting for 70.1% of domestic freight tonnage.
  •  In 2015, there were 3.63 million Class 8 trucks in operation.               

For more information please visit: www.machineryhaulers.org
Canadian ELD mandate could be in place by spring 2017
 
Transport Canada announced Aug. 3 that it would be proposing to amend the hours of service (HOS) regulations to mandate the use of electronic logging devices (ELDs) by federally-regulated motor carriers and commercial vehicle drivers.

The Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) said Transport Canada would launch a consultation process which should occur in early 2017 and be followed by the 60-day comment period and a final rule, including a compliance date that the department said would be one or two years prior to the mandate's completion, which could be published as soon as spring of 2017.

"The momentum is clearly building towards a mandate," said the president and CEO of the Alliance, David Bradley. "CTA will actively participate in the consultations."

The CTA said the government would like to have the Canadian ELD law fall in line with the one established in the US by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, which proposes a December 2017 compliance date for ELDs meeting the new US technical specifications and December 2019 for existing automatic onboard recording devices.

For more information please visit: www.machineryhaulers.org

SOURCE: HDT News
FMCSA Denies CVSA 30-Minute Rest Break Petition
 
On Aug. 8, 2016, FMCSA issued its response to CVSAs petition to amend Title 49 C.F.R. § 395.3,
Maximum driving time for property-carrying vehicles., by striking § 395.3(a)(3)(ii) Rest breaks. FMCSA denied
CVSA's petition , based on a lack of data to support the contention that the rule is difficult to consistently enforce and creates an undue burden for inspectors to verify compliance.

CVSA had originally requested that FMCSA remove the requirement that drivers take a 30 minute break if it has been at least 8 hours since their last break of at least 30 minutes. Their reasoning was that there are several segments of the industry who are exempt from the rule, making it difficult to enforce on a roadside inspection.


For more information please visit: www.machineryhaulers.org

SOURCE: CVSA