The next Membership and Board of Directors meetings will be held Wednesday October 12, 2022. The meetings will be held IN-PERSON at the MMTA Office on Whitten Road in Augusta. Breakfast will be served (generously sponsored by Great West Casualty) with the Membership meeting starting at 7:30 a.m. sharp.

After having received notice that the Bangor TSA Enrollment Center in Bangor was permanently closing on September 30th, we have a positive update for those northern Maine members who need HME and TWIC services.

Senator Collins’ office has contacted the TSA who indicated the “Bangor area is a required location for TSA enrollment services, so this closure will not be permanent.” 

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Hypnotherapy is an educational and self-improvement process that facilitates access to a person’s internal resources to assist him/her in solving problems, increasing motivation, or altering behavior patterns to create positive change.

The professionals needed to repair heavy-duty trucks and commercial vehicles require a set of skills distinct from the “grease monkeys” of 40 years ago. It’s time the industry pivots to reflect this change, say those closest to the issue.

A federal judge has struck down as unconstitutional a truck tolling plan by the Rhode Island Department of Transportation that was challenged in a lawsuit by American Trucking Associations as specifically aimed at motor carriers traveling through the state.

“Because RhodeWorks fails to fairly apportion its tolls among bridge users based on a fair approximation of their use of the bridges, [it] was enacted with a discriminatory purpose, and is discriminatory in effect, the statute’s tolling regime is unconstitutional under the dormant Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution,” wrote District Judge William Smith in a Sept. 21 ruling.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the Government of Canada has taken a layered approach to border management to protect the health and safety of Canadians. As the pandemic situation has continued to evolve, adjustments to border measures have been informed by the latest evidence, available data, operational considerations, and the epidemiological situation, both in Canada and internationally. Today the Government of Canada announced the removal of all COVID-19 entry restrictions, as well as testing, quarantine, and isolation requirements for anyone entering Canada, effective October 1, 2022.

A temporary exemption for commercial truck drivers renewing their hazardous material endorsement has been granted by the Transportation Security Administration.

TSA recently announced it will temporarily exempt the TSA Security Threat Assessment requirement for hazardous material endorsement holders whose endorsements expired or will expire before the end of calendar year.

MMTA Editor’s Note: We received the following from Maine BMV regarding the Federal exemption mentioned in this article. We caution members that use of the exemption should be the exception, not the rule:

Drivers/owners need to contact the BMV CDL Section at 207-624-9000 x52122 prior to the expiration of their HAZMAT endorsement to coordinate the extension/waiver."

Have the entry-level driver training regulations had an impact on drivers? That’s one of the questions the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration would like to get answered.

On Sept. 21, a notice was posted to the Federal Register by FMCSA. In the notice, the administration announced its plan to submit an information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget regarding a project titled “Effectiveness of Third-Party Testing and Minimum Standards for the CDL Knowledge and Skills Test.”

WASHINGTON — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is considering requiring all commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) operating in interstate commerce to be equipped with electronic identification technology capable of wirelessly communicating a unique ID number when queried by a federal or state motor carrier safety enforcement officer.

How drivers engage with Level 2 and Level 3 automated driving systems is the topic of a proposed study by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). The agency is seeking public comments on the proposed “Human Factors Considerations in Commercial Motor Vehicle Automated Driving Systems” study, according to a Sept. 21 Federal Register filing.

UCR stands for Unified Carrier Registration program. It is a federally-mandated system for registering operators of commercial vehicles who are involved in interstate and international travel. This annual registration must be renewed by December 31st each year.

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration is seeking public input regarding several potential options to increase funds generated by the hazardous materials registration and fee assessment program.

In an advance notice of proposed rulemaking published to the Federal Register on Sept. 22, PHMSA said it is considering “an adjustment to our statutorily mandated registration and fee assessment program for persons who transport or offer for transportation certain categories and quantities of hazardous materials.”

In an effort to further improve professionalism in the trucking industry, the MMTA is working with NATMI to offer a Motor Fleet Accident Investigation course for transportation safety professionals. The course will go over how to control costs through a complete and thorough vehicle accident investigation and help participants to develop skills in loss prevention, data collection and analysis.

October 6, 2022

9:00am - MMTA Office

7:30am - October 12, 2022

MMTA Office

October 14, 2022

8:30am - MMTA Office