The Distinctive Driver and Safe Employee Award Nomination period is now closed.  Please join us for the Award Presentation & Networking Reception  March 23rd reception at the Wyndham York Hotel, the evening before the PBA Marketplace, 6:30-8:30PM.  Registration is required, so please register online by March 13th.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) released data following the first weeks of operation of its Commercial Driver's License Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse. The information released showed that the clearinghouse has detected and identified nearly 8,000 positive substance abuse tests of commercial drivers since Jan. 6, 2020. The clearinghouse now has more than 650,000 registrants.

Read more...

The Clearinghouse supports the option for employers and consortia/third-party administrators (C/TPAs) to conduct queries individually, or to upload multiple queries at once.   Download and complete the Bulk Upload Template File.  C/TPAs: If you work with multiple employers, you will need to upload a separate file for each employer.  Once you have completed the bulk upload file, log in to the Clearinghouse. Under My Dashboard, go to Queries and select "submit a bulk upload" to get started.  

Unlike individual queries, which are processed as soon as they are entered (in the case of limited queries) or as soon as a driver provides his or her electronic consent (in the case of full queries), bulk queries are processed in batches. These batches are processed each night, between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. ET., in order to avoid overloading the system during peak user hours.  

Once you have successfully submitted your bulk upload file, the number of queries in your file will be deducted from your query balance. Within a few minutes, the queries contained in your file will begin appearing in your Query History page.  Learn how bulk queries are processed. 

The Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018, Pub. L. 115-334, (Farm Bill) removed hemp from the definition of marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act. Under the Farm Bill, hemp-derived products containing a concentration of up to 0.3% tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) are not controlled substances. THC is the primary psychoactive component of marijuana. Any product, including "Cannabidiol" (CBD) products, with a concentration of more than 0.3% THC remains classified as marijuana, a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act.  Read the notice.

The expiration this fall of the country's central highway policy law means that its reauthorization must be urgently addressed by Congress, Ed Mortimer, transportation director at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, told a Senate committee Feb. 25.

"The time is now for elected officials in Washington to take charge and tackle the problem with both adequate funding and a long-term plan," said Mortimer, who delivered expert testimony before the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, which oversees transit.   Read more...

Increasing infrastructure funding - especially in rural areas of America - while continuing to improve national transportation system safety will remain complementary goals for the U.S. Department of Transportation, according to USDOT Secretary Elaine Chao. Improving safety goes hand-and-glove with this infrastructure effort, Sec. Chao noted, adding that while only 19 percent of the nation's population lives in rural areas, 46 percent of the nation's highway fatalities occur on rural roads - meaning the overall motor vehicle fatality rate on rural roads is twice that of urban roads.  Read more...

Speaking to the gathering of the Specialized Carriers & Rigging Association last week in Charlotte, N.C., while digging in on the view that the ELD mandate is a safety-positive rule, FMCSA Acting Administrator Jim Mullen made it clear he believed the flawed rigidity of the current hours of service regulations needs modification to benefit drivers. FMCSA last August, still under the direction of former Administrator Ray Martinez, proposed an hours overhaul that would allow drivers to pause their 14-hour clock for up to three hours to go off-duty, among other changes.  Read more...

The inaugural Pennsylvania Tourism Summit is scheduled for March 25 & 26 at the Hilton Harrisburg. This new event will bring together all sectors of Pennsylvania's travel and tourism industry for two days of insightful and meaningful content and networking.  Get details here.

The year was 1976, and John Dockendorf was beginning his position as Chief of the Urban Transit Division of PennDot's Bureau of Public Transportation. Given his job, he thought it would be nice to decorate his office with some model buses, and so began his life-long passion. 

What began as an office decorating project turned into a collection of more than 5,000 toy and model buses ranging from 1915 to the present. John has become one of the world's foremost authorities on model buses. His collection includes cast iron, plastic, and die-cast from a variety of manufacturers, including Arcade, Kenton, Marx, Corgi, Dinky, and others. What's his favorite bus? A 1930 vintage Pickwick Nite Coach. It was the bus industry's attempt to provide a Pullman-type sleeper service.

This is your opportunity to come to Washington, DC to interact with your Congressional delegates and important agency officials and make sure your voice is heard.  The registration deadline is March 20, 2020.  Register today.

As a reminder, we moved our offices last July.  Please make sure your databases have been updated with our NEW address.  We are still getting mail forwarded to us, but that will expire in July.  

We would love to hear from you.  S hare your news via email to  director@pabus.org .

Personal checks may be made payable and sent to:

Motorcoach PAC

200 North Third Street, Suite 1500

Harrisburg, PA 17101

 

Corporate funds are not permitted in any form. Unincorporated business checks are acceptable providing no owner or partner of the business is a corporation. Please contact Milliron & Goodman if you have any questions at (717) 232-5322. Political Action Committee donations are not tax deductible.

Download the solicitation form for more information.