The top 4 FMCSA violations of 2021

Mileage Matters | April 19, 2022

FleetOwner- The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has released violation data for fiscal year 2021 and the numbers indicate some alarming data: of every 100 carriers who get audited by the DOT, fewer than six passed without a violation. And the remaining 94.5 %? By the time their audit is complete, they average six violations.

2022 Safety on the Road nominations

Deadline this Friday, April 22

2022 MI Truck Driving Championship/SuperTech registration

June 10-11

Government

U.S. Customs & Border Protection reopen U.S. FAST enrollment centers today

CBP.gov- U.S. Customs and Border Protection has announced that the U.S./Canada FAST enrollment centers in the United States will reopen today, April 19, 2022.

FAST enrollment centers in Canada remain closed until further notice.

Electric vehicles' lack of fuel tax leaves highway funding in limbo

Commercial Carriers Journal- A significant portion of the price of both gasoline and diesel fuel is comprised of taxes that are levied at both the federal and state levels.

With the advent of EVs, this source of revenue for federal and state governments goes away under the current rules.

Operations

FMCSA phishing scam alert!

tpr.fmcsa.dot.gov: FMCSA's Training Provider Registry has been notified of a phishing scam that you may receive from the FMCSA “Assistant of Administration” claiming you need to “complete your most recent up-to-date membership License certificate.” If you receive any suspicious email from info@fmcsa.dot.gov or any other entity that you are not expecting or looks suspicious, delete the email from your inbox. Once the email has been deleted, go into your deleted mail and delete it from your deleted mailbox.

More spring weight restrictions lifted Monday, April 18

MDOT- Effective Monday, April 18, 2022, 6 a.m., weight restrictions will be lifted on all state trunkline highways from the southern Michigan border north to and including M-72 from the intersection with M-22, in the Village of Empire, Leelanau County, then east on M-72 to US-131 in the Village of Kalkaska then south on US-131 to the south junction with M-72 then east on M-72 ending at US-23 in the City of Harrisville, Alcona County.

5 things fleets should know about DOT audits

Heavy Duty Trucking- There are few things more nerve-racking for a motor carrier than a DOT audit.

No motor carrier expects to be audited, and most do little to prepare until it’s too late. But simply understanding the process goes a long way to ensuring a positive outcome should an audit ever come.

ATRI asks fleets to lend data to operational costs report

FleetOwner- The American Transportation Research Institute has issued a call for motor carriers to participate in their annual update to its Operational Costs of Trucking report.

For-hire motor carriers are encouraged to provide operational cost data to ATRI by May 13.

Participating motor carriers will receive an advance copy of the full report and the new customized fleet report.

Recruitment & Retention

Walmart says it is raising truckers’ pay up to $110,000 and starting a training program

CNBC- Walmart is raising pay for long-haul truck drivers and launching a new program to train the next generation, as it seeks the staffing it relies on to replenish store shelves and warehouses across the country.

The retailer said truck drivers will now make between $95,000 and $110,000 in their first year with Walmart.

Truckers are filing coercion complaints with the feds at a record pace

Freight Waves- The latest data compiled by FMCSA's National Consumer Compliant Database reveals that complaints of coercion filed by truck drivers could easily break a record in 2022.

The agency adopted the Coercion Rule to prohibit employers, shippers and others from coercing drivers to violate hours-of-service limits, CDL regulations, drug and alcohol testing rules and other regulations.