Monday, July 23, 2012

LoadTrek.net - Installation of version 3.0.13 and Related Functionality

Join us for a Webinar on July 24
Webinar to review installation of the latest LoadTrek version - 3.0.13 and discuss the related functionality



Title:LoadTrek.net - Installation of version 3.0.13 and Related Functionality
Date:Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Time:1:00 PM - 2:00 PM CDT
After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.
Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/672214640

Sunday, July 22, 2012

PSP records system reviewed, updates proposed


Posted By CCJ Staff On July 19, 2012 @ 11:45 am
The U.S. Department of Transportation has proposed to update and reissue a System of Records Notice titled “Department of Transportation / Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration – 007 Pre-Employment Screening Program.” The updated system of records consists of information that is created and used by the program to provide commercial drivers and persons conducting pre-employment screening services for the motor carrier industry electronic access to driver history reports extracted from the Motor Carrier Management Information System.

DOT said that as a result of a biennial review of the system of records, the Privacy Office has made the five major modifications. The category of records identified as “Financial Transaction Records” in the previously published SRN for this system has been removed as the department does not maintain these records. The “Access Transaction Records” record category also has been revised to clarify the types of information maintained about the two categories of users permitted to request access to records for the purposes of pre-employment screening.

The routine uses have been updated to clarify disclosure of PSP records to industry service providers directly involved in the hiring of commercial motor vehicle drivers on behalf of motor carriers and/or CMV drivers and the routine use concerning the sharing of CMV driver access transaction records with validation authorities (e.g. Lexis-Nexis). The system owner information has been modified to omit the contact information for the MCMIS and Freedom of Information Act systems of records and instead include only contact information for the PSP system of records.
DOT says the updated notice also includes nonsubstantive changes to simplify the formatting and text of the previously published notice and that the updated system will be included in its inventory of record systems.

Written comments should be submitted on or before the effective date Aug. 21 at www.regulations.gov; the docket number is FMCSA-2012-0243. If no comments are received, the proposal will become effective. If comments are received, the comments will be considered and, where adopted, republished with changes.

Transport Topics Editorial: EOBR's


HEADLINE: Editorial: Electronic Logs

Highway safety is one of the trucking industry’s top priorities, and we have long supported the industry’s efforts to employ technology in enhancing the safety of our employees’ workplace and the safety of everyone who shares our nation’s highways.

Today, motor carriers are deploying devices that can cut down or eliminate rollover accidents, warn drivers of inadvertent lane departures and slow or even stop a vehicle to avoid collisions. It’s impossible to say how many crashes have been avoided or lives have been saved, but with the steadily declining rate of truck-involved fatalities, it’s safe to say that the industry’s emphasis on averting accidents is having an effect. It’s a performance record the industry can be proud of.

One of the safety advances made in recent years is the growing use of electronic onboard recording devices, sometimes known as electronic logging devices, to record compliance with limits on drivers’ hours of service.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has been working on a regulation that eventually would mandate nearly universal use of EOBRs. To underscore the importance of this safety advance, Congress included an EOBR mandate in the multiyear transportation bill it approved late last month.

But not everyone likes EOBRs. The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association is among the most vocal opponents of the devices, claiming that they are a plot by large carriers to burden small operators with unnecessary costs that, OOIDA claims, have no connection to safety.

Apparently OOIDA’s fantasy captured the ear of some in Congress, and just a day after Congress approved the highway bill with its EOBR mandate, Rep. Jeff Landry (R-La.) added an amendment to the Transportation Department appropriations bill that would prevent all work on an EOBR requirement. The House approved that appropriations measure with its EOBR ban and sent it to the Senate.

The Senate should reject this backdoor attempt to take a backward step in highway safety.

Rob Abbott, American Trucking Associations’ vice president of safety policy, has said: “We have very good data that show that fleets that are compliant with federal hours of service have lower crash rates.” The devices automatically record driving time, and ATA President Bill Graves stated, “Clearly, these devices lead to greater compliance with maximum driving limits — which is very good for the trucking industry as a whole and for highway safety.”

We urge the Senate and Congress as a whole to move forward with the EOBR mandate, to ensure that everyone in the trucking industry is playing by the same rules and to make highways a safe place both for our employees and for the driving public as a whole.

Thursday, July 5, 2012

Webinar on Finding, Keeping Good Drivers

The Dept. of Transportation (DOT) and the Trucking Industry Mobility and Technology Coalition (TIMTC) are sponsoring a free webinar on July 13 where experts will discuss how carriers can identify, recruit and retain quality truck drivers.
New government regulations, driver downsizing during the last recession and an aging workforce have dramatically reduced the number of qualified truck drivers in the U.S.   It is currently estimated that the industry will be facing a shortage of between 100,000 and 200,000 drivers in the next two years.  On top of that, several states are experiencing a boom in natural gas production and carriers must compete with high paying jobs in the oil fields.
The webinar will be held from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. EDT, Friday, July 13, and will feature Mike Card, president, Combined Transport, and Tom Balzer, executive vice president of the North Dakota Motor Carriers Assn.
Participants will need access to the Internet and a telephone.  To register, visit the TIMTC website at www.freightmobility.com.  An email with instructions for joining the webinar will be sent to all registrants.
Participation TIMTC is free and provides the latest information and updates on trucking industry initiatives that improve trucking’s safety and mobility.  Send your contact information to TIMTC@trucking.org to join.

Landry-Rahall amendment will not stop EOBR mandate