March 12th Meeting Speaker:  Steve Gilliland "Enjoy The Ride!"
Member News

MCI Kick-Off  at  UMA Expo  

GNJMA Platinum sponsor, Motor Coach Industries (MCI), a U.S. subsidiary of NFI Group Inc., showcased its innovative model and service lineup at UMA Expo in Fort Lauderdale Jan. 6-10th. The schedule included a smaller coach, accessibility, and battery-electric propulsion options. It happened at Booth 522 where MCI showcased its new 2019 J4500 and J3500 coach.  Read more...
TEMSA North America Open for Business  

GNJMA Silver sponsor, TEMSA, announced the launch of TEMSA North America at the United Motorcoach Association Expo 2019 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. As part of the company's strategic vision and investment for rapid regional growth, TEMSA North America will work directly with bus operators to furnish parts, service and warranty support as well as to connect them with new vehicles from the company's innovative line of coaches.  Read more...
With Deepest Sympathy  

GNJMA Member, John M. Tobin Jr. of Yankee Trails, 84, died Saturday, February 2, 2019.  
Born in Albany, he was the son of the late John M. Tobin and Anna M. Tobin. John and his family started Yankee Trails in 1957 with two buses. Sixty years later, he grew the motorcoach business to one of the largest operations in the Northeast.

The family of John Tobin Jr. said they will carry on his legacy by following his principles of hard work, dedication and never letting anyone outwork you.  Read more...
Welcome!

The following organization(s) joined the GNJMA since our January newsletter was published.   Welcome!

Clean Seats USA 
Contact:  Anthony Abuiso Abuiso@gmail.com  
Clean Seats USA has been in business for over 35 years! 
Members:  Get Noticed! 


If you have news you'd like to share about your company or one of your employees, or  if you are interested in being in our Member Spotlight, please contact us with photos, links and let us know what you would like to highlight.

 Industry Information

Motorcoach Leaders Discuss Current Industry Hurdles 


With hiring and retaining drivers and escalating costs being some of the top challenges faced by motorcoach operators these days, industry associations and operator networks play an essential role in working with their members to provide guidance and best practices on how to manage those hurdles.  Read more...
FMCSA Updates
 

Updated Motor Carrier Safety Planner:  The Motor Carrier's Guide to Improving Highway Safety has changed to The Motor Carrier Safety Planner.   In 2018, FMCSA updated and renamed this important guide, making it easier to search and customize the content by presenting it as an interactive website called " The Motor Carrier Safety Planner ."

The guide is available to anyone, but carriers with an FMCSA Portal account have the added capability to create a customized version of the guide called "My Safety Planner" to save chapters and forms, and make highlights and notes about the content most relevant to their operations.  Read more...

New ELD FAQ's:  The ELD Frequently Asked Questions have been updated with the following two additions to the Editing and Annotations category.

Can a driver be assigned driver records recorded under the Unidentified Driver profile and indicate a special driving category at the time the driver is assigned the driver records?   Yes, a driver can be assigned unidentified driver records recorded under the Unidentified Driver profile and indicate a special driving category. However, an ELD must not allow automatically recorded driving time for a driver to be shortened or altered in any way.

Can a driver edit their records after erroneously accepting a driving event that was originally recorded under the Unidentified Driver profile?   Yes, a driver can edit their record after erroneously accepting a driving event that was originally recorded under the Unidentified Driver profile. The ELD must prompt the driver to annotate edits. In addition, the carrier can suggest the edit which can be routed to the driver for confirmation.

To read more related frequently asked questions for ELDs, visit 
FMCSA website.

Liability Implications for Hours of Service Regulations:  When a commercial motor vehicle is involved in an automobile collision, directly or indirectly, the motor carrier and driver often end up as defendants in litigation.  Almost immediately, written discovery leads to requests for the driver's work hours and log books for the past week, month, or even year. The intent of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's (FMCSA) Hours of Service (HOS) regulations is to make commercial motor vehicle (CMV) operation safer by managing the amount of time drivers spend on the road.     Read more...
NJMVC CDL Skills Test Scheduling Update 

James L. Ferguson, Director with  The New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, shared with GNJMA via email that the NJMVC continues to expand their CDL testing capacity to assist industry demand. In October of 2018, they opened two new CDL Skills Test courses at Delanco, for a total of fifteen CDL Skills test courses statewide. 

Scheduling times vary throughout the State and the statewide average is currently 37 days, with select sites within 14 days. In addition, they offer bulk testing to the industry on a weekly basis. Access to testing continues to be their priority.
NJ Gets Four New School Bus Safety Laws That Respond to Deadly Paramus Crash 

Seven months after a school bus crash left a Paramus fifth-grade student and middle-school teacher dead, Gov. Phil Murphy on Monday signed four more safety laws that aim to prevent more bus accidents from happening in New Jersey.  
NJ Minimum Wage Set to Increase Dramatically 

Governor Phil Murphy has signed a law increasing New Jersey's minimum wage. For most businesses, the first increase will be on July 1, 2019 (5 months from now) to $10.00 per hour, with another dollar an hour increase in January 2020 bringing the minimum wage $11.00 per hour. Increases of $1.00 per year will continue every January until January 2024 when the minimum wage will be $15.00 per hour.  Read more...
PA New Law: Cameras on School Buses Goes in Effect 

A new state law that allows school buses to have cameras for recording drivers who illegally pass at bus stops went into effect January 2019.

The legislation allows for outside cameras on the stop arm.  The Lower Dauphin School District has three stop arm cameras and has been using them for nearly five years. So far this school year, their cameras have captured six drivers breaking the law.    Read more...
NY Hadn't Been Enforcing ELD Mandate.  Now It Is.  

The New York State Department of Transportation announced that state inspectors will begin enforcing federal electronic logging device rules, ending a year-plus stretch during which a lawsuit kept the state law enforcement in limbo and left federal inspectors as the sole enforcers of the rule in the state.     Read more...
Upcoming Events
Motorcoach Professional Awards

The Motorcoach Professional Awards Luncheon, scheduled for Tuesday, March 12th at the Sands Casino Resort, Bethlehem, honors our Member's employees that demonstrate excellence and professionalism in the motorcoach industry.  
Scholarship Program

There will be two annual scholarships awarded. The amount of the scholarships initially will be $1,500 each. One will be awarded for GNJMA Operator Members and one award will be awarded for GNJMA Allied Members..  


Annual Sponsor Appreciation Dinner (Emeril's Chophouse)
Board of Director's Meeting
Spring Association Meeting & Motorcoach Professional Awards Luncheon
Mini-Marketplace
Registration is open!   Register today and book your hotel room.  The room reservation deadline is February 9th! 

Golf Outing 
Meet & Mingle
Board of Director's Meeting
Fall Annual Association Meeting
Group Leader Marketplace
Mini-Marketplace

For more information, please visit the GNJMA Events Page!
The United Motorcoach Association (UMA) will host hundreds of individual representatives from a variety of the bus and motorcoach industry groups as it plans the largest industry legislative fly-in event of its kind.   Read more...


 ICYMI:  Member Alerts

Member Alerts are sent out to our Members as needed.  Here is a sampling of what has been sent recently:
  • Scholarship, Speaker & Motorcoach Professional Awards
  • Reminder - 2019 Motorcoach Professional Awards - Call for Nominations
  • Jimmie Lytle of Coach USA Joins GNJMA Board of Directors
  • AC Parking Contract Return Reminder
  • A Note Regarding Discounted Room Rate at Sands Bethlehem
  • Mayor De Blasio Announces NYPD Crackdown on Illegal Parking to Speed Up Buses
  • Top Ten Reasons to Register for Spring GNJMA Events!
All alerts, as well as past newsletters, can be accessed via our website member portal with logon credentials.
 Thank You To Our Sponsors!

Visit our Sponsor Page for a list of all of our sponsors!

Download our logo above to display proudly on your website.
Contact:  Pattie Cowley, Executive Director | Greater New Jersey Motorcoach Association
 908-835-0935 x105 | pcowley@gnjma.com | www.gnjma.com