Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Overdrive Magazine: EOBR mandate, CSA rating proposals coming early 2013


Byline: Todd Dills

At a meeting of the Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Aug. 27 in Alexandria, Va., FMCSA Government Affairs Director John Drake updated the committee on provisions of the MAP-21 highway bill that would require agency action over the next two years and three months, the bill’s duration.

“Our budget may have remained relatively flat” compared to previous funding levels under SAFETEA-LU, said FMCSA Administrator Anne Ferro, but the bill “gave a significant bump in safety…. We’re all extremely excited about the initiatives that MAP-21 enables – much of it was [on] our program’s agenda.”

Among those initiatives on FMCSA’s agenda was the electronic log mandate, which Drake confirmed was on the agency’s schedule to reach Notice of Proposed Rulemaking stage in March of next year, proceeding to a final rule by October.

The EOBR mandate, first proposed in different form decades ago, was among the highway bill’s most controversial provisions. Reflecting that long history and joining others among skeptics of the schedule, “timelines are sometimes not exactly predictable,” said Committee member and Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association Executive Vice President Todd Spencer. “There are things that can happen along the way.”

One item on the agency’s program agenda that was not included in the highway bill was expanded authority over drivers relative to making its Compliance Safety Accountability’s Driver Safety Measurement System available for public view, said FMCSA Associate Administrator for Enforcement Bill Quade. “One day we may consider doing publicly available driver-scoring systems,” he elaborated, noting “there are many complications that would go along with a driver scoring system,” among them the Privacy Act and other protections of individuals’ identifying information. “We asked Congress in MAP-21 to make [additional FMCSA authorities] crystal clear, but they didn’t.”

Also on the agency’s docket is issuance of an NPRM relative to the longstanding goal of utilizing carriers’ SMS results to compute a final Safety Fitness Determination for companies, Drake said. He expected the NPRM would be available for comment as early as January 2013.

Quade said in a briefing on the CSA system that “we will propose an absolute scale” for ratings in the Safety Fitness Determination, “not a relative scale” like the SMS BASIC (Behavioral Analysis and Safety Improvement Category) numbers. One of the challenges they’re dealing with is “finding a threshold level that does not change month to month.”

MAP-21, Drake said, requires agency completion of “29 rulemakings over the 27-month life of the bill,” a significantly more dense schedule than the previous five-year highway bill’s 36 directed rulemakings.

As of October 1 this year, when MAP-21 goes into effect, FMCSA will gain expanded authority to deal with reincarnated and otherwise high-risk carriers to effectively shut companies down, Drake said. “The way the provision is crafted is in two parts — beginning October 1, if the agency finds a carrier to be an imminent hazard,” not only can FMCSA order the company to cease operations, it will gain enforcement powers to tow and/or impound company vehicles. In future, ”there is potential to expand that imminent hazard authority,” he added.

Said Administrator Ferro, “It’s intended for those who defy logic and continue to operate after we’ve shut them down. We’re trying to get to the worst of the worst.”

Other provisions expected to see action over the next year:
  1. Rulemaking and updates to the Unified Registration System, which will include expanded authority over freight forwarders and brokers and their new surety bond and reporting requirements.
  2. Establishing of the drug and alcohol clearinghouse.
  3. Updates to the newly establishing National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners designed to facilitate state reporting to FMCSA of driver medical qualification data.
  4. Extension of the MCSAC’s charter through 2013. Said Administrator Ferro, “We thought it was a good opportunity to look at the terms and membership process…. It would include two-year terms renewable only one time with a maximum. It will provide those of you that have been serving diligently from the beginning a break as well.”

Visit www.mcsac.fmcsa.dot.gov for more information.

New Highway Law a Big Work Order for FMCSA - Truckinginfo.com

New Highway Law a Big Work Order for FMCSA - Truckinginfo.com

Monday, August 27, 2012

Deadlines for California Reefer Requirements

Fleets that operate transport refrigeration units (TRUs) with 2005 model-year engines in California, whether domiciled in the state or not, have until December 31, 2012 to either replace these units with newer models or engines or retrofit them with California Air Resources Board (CARB) verified diesel particulate filters.  

CARB will allow for installation delays past this date if a TRU is registered with CARB and a purchase order for a new unit or engine has been placed by the end of August. For filters, purchase orders must be placed by the end of October. 

A copy of the order notice is available online. Contact Mike Tunnell at mtunnell@trucking.org.

Take Five Minutes for Your Voice to be Heard

ATRI is soliciting responses to the 2012 Top Industry Issues Survey.  The annual survey, commissioned by ATA, asks trucking industry stakeholders to rank the top issues of concern along with appropriate strategies for addressing each issue.  

This year the survey has been streamlined to allow the industry to give feedback more quickly, while also providing a broader range of issues to consider.  

Industry stakeholders are encouraged to complete the survey online.  Alternately a paper copy is available on ATRI's website at www.atri-online.org.  The results of the 2012 survey will be released at the ATA Annual Management Conference and Exhibition, to be held Oct. 7-10, 2012 in Las Vegas.

Saturday, August 25, 2012

NSRMCA Elects John Sheehy as their New President

 At the 2012 President SheehyNational Convention in Jacksonville, FL, John Sheehy was elected President of the National Star Route Mail Contractors Association.  John is President of Sheehy Mail Contractors Inc., based in Waterloo, WI.   
President Sheehy was born in 1963 in La Crosse, WI.  He attended the University Of Wisconsin School Of Engineering.  He started a truck detail and cleaning service at the age of 14 through College, worked in the family business and began driving routes at age 18.  He served as Vice President of the Wisconsin Branch and was State President for 6 years.  Mr. Sheehy has been a Regional Director on the Association’s Board of Directors for the last 5 years and also serves on the Association’s Policy committee.  
The Association is headquartered in Washington, DC and represents some 17,000 small businessmen and women who contract with the United States Postal Service for the over-the-highway transportation of the mail.
The Association is non-profit and its major goal is to provide legislative and regulatory protection to its members as well as a primary interest in their general welfare.  It is the only official organization recognized by the U.S. Postal Service, the U.S. Congress, the Department of Labor, the Department of Transportation and other federal and state agencies to represent and speak in behalf of the nation's USPS Highway Contractors.

USPS, FedEx Recognize LoadTrek Clients

The United States Postal Service has named two LoadTrek clients recipients of the prestigious Eagle Spirit Award - Area Storage and Transfer, and Foreman Brothers Inc.  The Eagle Spirit Award recognizes superior performance and professionalism among the 11,000 businesses that provide transportation services to the United States Postal Service.  The USPS has high standards for its contractors, with no margin for error, late deliveries, or missed trips. 

Area Storage and Transfer is headquartered in Harrisburg, PA.  Founded in 1989, Area is owned by Lori Demchack and Dave Demchak, operating along the east coast and in the Rocky Mountain region.  

Foreman Brothers Inc. has been in business since 1951, and is based in  Detroit, MI.  The company is managed by second and third generation family members.  Vice President Jill Farris also serves on the board of the National Star Route Mail Contractors Association.  

FedEx recognizes two LoadTrek clients for excellence - Sheehy Mail Contractors, Inc. and Foreman Brothers, Inc.  FedEx extensively uses contract transportation services, with 12,000 contract vehicles operating within their network.  

Jill Farris of Foreman Bros Inc. received the Peak Performance Award from FedEx for increasing capacity 200%.  

Sheehy Mail Contractors received two awards from FedEx.  The first is FedEx Regional Carrier of the Year - presented to the best carrier in their operating region.  The second award recognizes Sheehy for 100% On Time Performance for a year, with no service failures.  Sheehy has been in business for over 50 years and is based in Waterloo, WI.  

Monday, August 20, 2012

Come See us at the Commercial Vehicle Outlook Conference at GATS in Dallas this Week

The third annual Commercial Vehicle Outlook Conference will bring together thought leaders from all segments of the trucking industry to share real-world insights on the state of the industry and what steps to take to survive and thrive in the fourth quarter and beyond.

August 22-23 at the Dallas Convention Center - Ballroom D.  Register at http://www.ccjdigital.com/eventsprograms/cvoc/registrations/.