|
Attention Commercial Motor
Vehicle (CMV) Drivers and Carriers:
Did you know an
important law affecting you goes into effect May 21, 2014?
To keep America’s interstate
CMV drivers healthy and our roads safer, all interstate CMV drivers will soon
be required to have their medical examinations performed by a Certified
Medical Examiner listed on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners.
If you’re an interstate CMV
driver, you already need a valid medical certificate signed by a medical
examiner. The only change is that after May 21, 2014, you’ll need to go to
a certified medical examiner for your medical certificate. If you’ve
already had an exam and have a current certificate that certificate
will be valid until its regular expiration date.
You can find certified
medical examiners in your area—or anywhere in the country—easily by following
1.
Visit the National Registry Web site and
search by Zip Code, State, or examiner name.
2.
Choose a certified medical examiner from the list and call to make an appointment.
3.
If your preferred health care professional isn’t on the list, simply refer
him or her to the Certified Medical Examiners page to learn
more about getting certified.
Please spread the word and
encourage your fellow CMV drivers to find a Certified Medical Examiner by May
21st. They can find more information in the Fact Sheet for Drivers or by going to the National Registry Web site, so pass it
along!
Thank you for keeping America
moving and for your commitment to safer roadways.
|
Wednesday, April 9, 2014
ATTENTION Drivers and Carriers: New Regulation as of 5/21/14
Tuesday, April 8, 2014
LoadTrek Training Webinar Schedule and Topics - Week of April 7th, 2014
Webinars will last approximately 30 minutes, with 20-25 minutes of instruction followed by a 5-10 minute Q & A session.
Invitations and links to register for the next scheduled webinar will be sent prior to each session. All webinars will be recorded and posted to the existing LoadTrek training video library.
The calendar of upcoming webinars can always be viewed online by accessing the Support Pages of our website: www.loadtrek.net and clicking on "Webinar Calendar".
Date
Time
Topic
4/9/2014 15:00 Central
HOS: Edits and Driver Processes
4/10/2014 15:00 Central
Maps: New Features
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
FMCSA Publishes Electronic Logging Device Rule
On
March 28, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) officially
published their Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
(SNPRM) regarding Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs, previously EOBRs).
The
Agency publicly released the document on March 13; however, a rule’s comment
period cannot begin until it is published in the Federal Register.
According to the Agency, the proposal is intended to increase efficiency for
law enforcement personnel and inspectors who review driver logbooks, respect
driver privacy, and protect drivers from harassment. The proposal will also
reduce the paperwork burden on drivers and motor carriers and improve the
quality of hours of service compliance data.
Comments are due May 27, 2014. The
proposal will be on the agenda at the CVSA Workshop in April in Los Angeles, CA.
Friday, March 28, 2014
ELD Information & Education Webinars
Join us to discuss electronic logging devices (ELDs); how they work, how to use them, and how to get prepared for the upcoming mandate.
To register:
Monday March 31 at 3 PM CDT: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/463326457
Tuesday April 2 at 10 AM CDT: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/268391576
Thursday April 3 at 11 AM CDT: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/413478553
To register:
Monday March 31 at 3 PM CDT: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/463326457
Tuesday April 2 at 10 AM CDT: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/268391576
Thursday April 3 at 11 AM CDT: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/413478553
Electronic logging device rule proposal published, comment period ends May 27
By James Jaillet
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s latest attempt at an electronic logging device mandate has been published in the Federal Register as a Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, and the agency will accept public comment on the proposed rule for 60 days.
FMCSA officially announced Thursday the next iteration of a rule that will require the use of electronic logging devices for all drivers required to keep records of duty status.
FMCSA announced the rule March 13 and released the 250-page document. The rule, when made final, will require all truck drivers who currently must keep records of duty status to use an electronic logging device, formerly known as electronic onboard recorders.
After the 60-day comment period, the agency will begin work on crafting a final rule, which is likely to be published later this year.
The effective date of the mandate would be two years after publication of the final rule, so likely late 2016.
The agency with this rule was directed by Congress and the courts to include more provisions to protect drivers from carriers using the devices to harass them.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s latest attempt at an electronic logging device mandate has been published in the Federal Register as a Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, and the agency will accept public comment on the proposed rule for 60 days.
FMCSA officially announced Thursday the next iteration of a rule that will require the use of electronic logging devices for all drivers required to keep records of duty status.
FMCSA announced the rule March 13 and released the 250-page document. The rule, when made final, will require all truck drivers who currently must keep records of duty status to use an electronic logging device, formerly known as electronic onboard recorders.
After the 60-day comment period, the agency will begin work on crafting a final rule, which is likely to be published later this year.
The effective date of the mandate would be two years after publication of the final rule, so likely late 2016.
The agency with this rule was directed by Congress and the courts to include more provisions to protect drivers from carriers using the devices to harass them.
Thursday, March 27, 2014
DOT Proposes Use of Electronic Logbooks to Improve Efficiency, Safety in Commercial Bus & Truck Industries
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Transportation’s
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced a proposal
to require interstate commercial truck and bus companies to use Electronic
Logging Devices (ELDs) in their vehicles to improve compliance with the safety
rules that govern the number of hours a driver can work.
The proposed rulemaking would significantly reduce
the paperwork burden associated with hours-of-service recordkeeping for
interstate truck and bus drivers - the largest in the federal government
following tax-related filings - and improve the quality of logbook data.
"Today's proposal will improve safety while
helping businesses by cutting unnecessary paperwork - exactly the type of
government streamlining President Obama called for in his State of the Union
address," said Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. "By leveraging
innovative technology with Electronic Logging Devices, we have the opportunity
to save lives and boost efficiency for both motor carriers and safety
inspectors."
The proposed rule will ultimately reduce
hours-of-service violations by making it more difficult for drivers to
misrepresent their time on logbooks and avoid detection by FMCSA and law
enforcement personnel. Analysis shows it will also help reduce crashes by
fatigued drivers and prevent approximately 20 fatalities and 434 injuries each
year for an annual safety benefit of $394.8 million.
"By implementing Electronic Logging Devices, we
will advance our mission to increase safety and prevent fatigued drivers from
getting behind the wheel," said Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrator
Anne S. Ferro. "With broad support from safety advocates, carriers and
members of Congress, we are committed to achieving this important step in the
commercial bus and truck industries."
The Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking,
which was sent to the Federal Register to publish on March 12, supersedes a
prior 2011 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking related to electronic on-board recorders.
It includes provisions to:
- Respect driver privacy by ensuring that ELD records continue to reside with the motor carriers and drivers. Electronic logs will continue to only be made available to FMCSA personnel or law enforcement during roadside inspections, compliance reviews and post-crash investigations.
- Protect drivers from harassment through an explicit prohibition on harassment by a motor carrier owner towards a driver using information from an ELD. It will also establish a procedure for filing a harassment complaint and creates a maximum civil penalty of up to $11,000 for a motor carrier that engages in harassment of a driver that leads to an hours-of-service violation or the driver operating a vehicle when they are so fatigued or ill it compromises safety. The proposal will also ensure that drivers continue to have access to their own records and require ELDs to include a mute function to protect against disruptions during sleeper berth periods.
- Increase efficiency for law enforcement personnel and inspectors who review driver logbooks by making it more difficult for a driver to cheat when submitting their records of duty status and ensuring the electronic logs can be displayed and reviewed electronically, or printed, with potential violations flagged.
In developing the updated proposal, FMCSA relied on
input from its Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee, feedback from two
public listening sessions and comments filed during an extended period
following the 2011 proposed rule. The proposal also incorporates the mandates
included in the most recent transportation bill, the Moving Ahead for Progress
in the 21st Century (MAP-21) Act, and other statutes.
Impaired driving, including fatigue, was listed as a
factor in more than 12 percent of the 129,120 total crashes that involved large
trucks or buses in 2012.
New federal regulations designed to improve safety
for the motoring public by reducing the risk of truck driver fatigue took
effect on July 1, 2013: http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/about/news/news-releases/2013/fmcsa-40-13.aspx.
On August 1, 2013, the Obama Administration
announced another proposal to eliminate a burdensome daily paperwork
requirement for professional truck drivers, daily vehicle inspection reports,
and reduce costs to the industry by an estimated $1.7 billion annually while
maintaining safety standards: http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/about/news/news-releases/2013/FMCSA-46-13
Sunday, March 16, 2014
Thursday, February 27, 2014
MARCH 1 IS DEADLINE FOR MCS-150 UPDATE
October
2013 all companies that had or require a DOT number were notified that biennial
updates had to be current by December 1, 2013 or risk having their DOT number
deactivated.
Effective March 1, 2014 any carrier that is not current with the
MCS-150 biennial update will be deactivated. This will include any
company with a DOT number that was outdated at the end of 2013 and any company
that had a biennial update due in January 2014 and it has not be done. At that
point the biennial update process will go on a rolling schedule; February
updates-deactivated April 1, March updates-deactivated May 1 and so forth.
To do the biennial update electronically, you must have your DOT Pin
number. Updates can be mailed however the turnaround time on the updates 3 to 4
weeks are. By 2015 electronic biennial updating will be mandatory. You can
order your pin online www.safer.fmcsa.dot.gov or by calling
1-800-832-56601-800-832-5660.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)