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MMTA Annual Banquet Recap
Award Winners Announced!!
Each year, we recognize trucking companies and drivers for their commitment to highway safety with an evening of awards. This year's Annual Banquet was held January 11th at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor with almost 450 in attendance.
For more information on the winners and to see our amazing list of sponsors, go to our event result website link: https://www.mmta.com/2024annualbanquet/. Congratulations to the winners and we thank you for supporting highway safety and the trucking industry in Maine!
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John W. Austin Memorial Scholarship Fund – Application Now Open
MMTA
The John W. Austin Memorial Scholarship Fund has grown over the years and now awards up to nine recipients a one-time scholarship for up to $2,500 each. The application deadline is May 1st and will be accepted online only.
The criteria to be selected for one of the nine scholarships reflect an emphasis on careers and instruction specific to the trucking industry in an attempt to focus on technical training. See below for the qualifications and requirements for applicants.
Read more...
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Snow And Ice Removal From Commercial Vehicles
MMTA
It’s that time of year again, the temperature is falling and so is accumulating snow! This presents a unique problem for the trucking industry, one that our members take seriously. This, of course, is the clearing of snow and ice from commercial vehicles prior to operation on public ways.
As you know, MMTA has continued to work to limit public policies that mandate commercial trucks be free of snow and ice prior to operation. At the same time, we advocate and educate that our members do all they can to keep their commercial vehicles safe for operation, including the clearing of snow and ice prior to use on a public way whenever safe and possible.
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2024 MMTA Employee Benefits Program Rates/Plans Now Available
MMTA
Are you taking advantage of MMTA’s group employee benefits? MMTA works with some of the most respected insurance carriers in Maine to create a diverse employee benefits program to offer our members. The program includes a variety of plan options, including dental, vision, short-term disability, and life insurance, for all budgets.
By leveraging member purchasing power and creating a larger pool, we have negotiated better prices and rate stability for our plans. Our 2024 rates are competitive, with some plans staying the same and some rates are even lower.
Click here to read the full article...
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MMTA RELEASES 2024 TRAINING/EVENT SCHEDULE
MMTA has released our 2024 training and events calendar. While the schedule may change, we thought it was important to get the dates and training topics out as early as possible so members can make their plans for the year. As always, you can register for trainings and events online at www.mmta.com as well as find sponsorship opportunities that are available.
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New Rule Will Reclassify Independent Contractors as Employees
Transport Topics
A new U.S. Department of Labor rule announced Jan. 9 adopts a multistep “economic factors” test for companies to follow to determine whether a worker should be classified as an independent contractor or an employee, adding a layer of regulatory oversight that transportation stakeholders fear will upend the business model for independent truck drivers.
“The trucking industry has used independent contractors since the inception of interstate trucking, and court decisions over the last 90 years have continually reaffirmed the legitimate role ICs play in the economy,” American Trucking Associations President Chris Spear said in a statement. “It’s unfortunate that the administration has chosen to replace a clear and straightforward standard with a tangled mess that weakens our supply chain and undermines the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of truckers across the country.”
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Speed Limiters, Automatic Emergency Braking, Side Underride? 2024 Regulatory Outlook
Heavy Duty Trucking
The U.S. Department of Labor’s new regulation on independent contractors, published Jan. 10, is just the first of a number of regulations we’ll likely see in 2024 that affect trucking.
Many expect a proposed speed limiter mandate to show up any day now. We may get news on the result of a proposal for mandatory automatic emergency braking by this summer.
Read more...
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Analysis: California not ready for its own EV mandates
Commercial Carrier Journal
California is leading the nation's charge into electric trucking, but a recent report compiled the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) found that the Golden State may not be ready for it.
ATRI analysis of California’s readiness for full vehicle electrification, an expansion of ATRI’s December 2022 report, Charging Infrastructure Challenges for the U.S. Electric Vehicle Fleet, found that California’s top-3 power generators face an uncertain future, further widening the gap between power generation and demand for electricity.
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Plans to install EV charging stations are about to run into an ugly wall of permitting and utility delays
Route Fifty
To add 7 million chargers, millions and millions of permits and utility connections will have to flow through a system that’s already clogged. A sidewalk-based charging station might need an electrical permit, a building permit, an encroachment permit for construction in the public right of way as well as a new or updated connection to a utility’s power system. Has your experience getting permits for a home renovation been a happy, streamlined, efficient process? Now multiply that by 7 million.
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The 2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV Left Me Stranded In Rural Virginia
Inside EVs
A drive that should have taken about seven hours, not including two hour-long stops in Gallipolis, Ohio, and Wytheville, Virginia, turned into a 14-hour ordeal. It saw me abandoning a car that seems quite pivotal to the future of General Motors on the side of the road in small-town America.
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No juice, no EVs: Utilities weak link in fleet transition
FleetOwner
Emissions mandates, tax incentives, less complex fleet maintenance, and corporate environmental goals can lead companies to pursue fleet electrification. Government incentives are also trying to get decision-makers to contact EV dealers.
But so far, even in states like California with strict emissions regulations and rebate incentives, not all businesses are rushing to convert their ICE-powered trucks. Among the reasons is application, with electrifcation fitting better with select operations. Trucks that haul thousands of pounds over long stretches of highway don’t yet have an electric truck alternative that can adequately meet business requirements.
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FMCSA looking to increase UCR fees by 25% for next year
Commercial Carrier Journal
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is proposing to increase registration fees that participating states collect from motor carriers, brokers, freight forwarders and leasing companies for the Unified Carrier Registration (UCR) Plan and Agreement for the 2025 registration year and subsequent years.
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ATA launches latest Driver Compensation Study Survey
American Journal of Transportation
The American Trucking Association opened its survey for the 2024 ATA Driver Compensation Study.
“The Driver Compensation Study is an invaluable and one-of-a-kind benchmarking tool,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “To get as accurate a picture of industry trends as possible, we rely on input from a large cross-section of motor carriers to provide detailed information about the many pay structures, benefits packages, incentives, and bonuses provided to the industry’s most valuable resource: professional drivers.”
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Penn. Turnpike tolls increase this weekend (Jan. 5)
FleetOwner
Toll increases go into effect in Pennsylvania this week. According to the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, the increases approved last year begin across the highway system at 12:01 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 7.
The Commission approved the 5% increase for E-ZPass and Toll By Plate customers on July 18. The most common toll for a Class 8 tractor-trailer will increase from $14.40 to $15.20 for E-ZPass and from $29.40 to $30.90 for Toll By Plate. The most common toll for a passenger vehicle will increase from $1.80 to $1.90 for E-ZPass customers and from $4.40 to $4.70 for Toll By Plate customers.
Read more...
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UPCOMING MMTA TRAINING & EVENTS | |
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Hours-of-Service Training
January 26, 2024
8:30am
MMTA Office, Augusta
FMI and Registration
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Drug & Alcohol Supervisor
February 2, 2024
8:30am
Cross MMTA Office, Augusta
FMI and Registration
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MMTA Safety Management Council Meeting
February 15, 2024
8:00am
MMTA Office, Augusta
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Thank you MMTA Annual Sponsors | |
Zero percent loans for approved CDL school training |
MMTA
Students attending approved CDL schools are eligible to apply for tuition loans to attain their Class A or Class B Commercial Driver’s License at an amazing ZERO percent interest.
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