CVSA's 2022 Out-of-Service Criteria Now in Effect

Mileage Matters | April 5, 2022

CVSA’s 2022 out-of-service criteria now in effect

CVSA.org- The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CVSA) 2022 North American Standard Out-of-Service Criteria went into effect Friday, April 1. The following changes were made to the out-of-service criteria:

Government

Gov. Whitmer signs over $4.7B for infrastructure

Associated Press- Michigan is investing more than $4.7 billion to improve infrastructure, including drinking water upgrades, internet access and fixing roads, bridges and dams.

The spending plan includes some of the biggest infrastructure investments in state history, Gov. Whitmer said last Wednesday before signing the bipartisan legislation.

Transportation is getting a $645 million investment to improve bridges, roads and public transportation among other things.

Why gas tax breaks could 'do little to nothing' to help trucking companies

Transport Dive- Maryland became the first state in the U.S. to enact a 30-day gas tax reduction in March and other states continue to weigh similar measures amid consumer frustration at swelling gas prices and inflation overall.

Some gas stations have lowered prices, which are subject to a slew of other factors, but governments cannot require them to do so. Even falling prices could fail to put a dent in fuel costs for interstate truckers because the International Fuel Tax Agreement, a tax paid to states for use of their roads, remains in place.

Operations

More weight restrictions lifted Monday, April 4

MDOT- Effective 6:00 am Monday, April 4, 2022 weight restrictions will be lifted on all state trunk line highways from the southern Michigan border north to and including M-46 /US-31BR intersection in the City of Muskegon, Muskegon County, East to US-131, North to M-46, then continuing East on M-46 to the M-25 intersection ending at Port Sanilac, Sanilac County.

What’s the status of AB5 and its possible impact on trucking in California?

Freight Waves- It’s been a quiet few months in the battle over whether California’s independent contractor law, AB5, will be applied to trucking in that state.

At its most basic, it could mean that a trucking company would either need to stop hiring owner operators or radically change their business model in order to do so.

An injunction that has blocked AB5 in the state’s trucking sector could end any day; it could also not end until 2023.

Equipment

ATA seeks guidance on missing underride guard labels

Transport Topics- The trucking industry is asking federal regulators for clarity about potential enforcement issues surrounding a new rule for annual inspection of rear underride guards on trailers.

Specifically, American Trucking Associations in a March 25 letter asked what would happen if labels that must be attached to trailers to certify that a guard complies with placement and strength requirements are lost, damaged or unreadable. The law mandating the inspections and labels took effect in December.

FMCSA grants extension request to replace specified 3G dependent ELDs

eld.fmcsa.dot.gov- Mobile carriers are shutting down their 3G networks. When in an area that does not support 3G, a dependent device will register a malfunction. A carrier has 8 days to get the malfunction resolved, in this case by replacement, unless an extension is granted.

FMCSA has granted an extension for any carriers using specific ELDs -- Omnitracts, ORBCOMM and Rand McNally -- allowing the carrier's drivers to continue to use paper records of duty status in lieu of the ELD until the 3G dependent devices are replaced with a compliant 4G or 5G device.

Recruitment & Retention

The truth about trucking turnover

trucking.org (ATA)- Turnover is not an indicator of people exiting the industry. Rather, it more accurately measures drivers moving between carriers. It captures churn within the industry—not attrition from the industry. So why are drivers moving between fleets in such great numbers and frequency? There are many factors at play, but 1) demand and 2) opportunity are the most important.