Is your CDL driver staffing company helping you improve the quality of your driver fleet? If not, you might consider finding a better CDL driver staffing partner. In today's economic environment, when so many quality drivers are unemployed or underemployed, the best carriers are actively "top-grading".
Your CDL driver staffing company should be an extension of your recruiting department. While you, the carrier, manage your day-to-day business, your CDL driver staffing company should be marketing for and recruiting you the very best performers available. When found, you can remove a poor performing driver and replace them with a good performing driver. It won't take long until your overall fleet quality has improved dramatically. Think about how that would improve the service to your customers.
From a compliance perspective, "top-grading" is a no brainer. As the CSA 2010 program nears, Driving Ambition strongly suggests you audit your current driver's roadside inspection history. Sort the last 36 months of inspection history based on the CSA 2010 six "BASICs" and Crash Indicator categories, weight them by date and severity, and determine your worst 15%. When CSA 2010 goes live, those are the drivers responsible for increasing your safety score. Those are also the drivers that will draw the attention of your insurance company's underwriters and will increase your insurance premiums. Avoid the future drama...partner with your CDL driver staffing company...and "top-grade" your fleet now.
Driving Ambition is a premier CDL truck driver staffing company serving Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Since 2001, we have specialized in matching safe, experienced CDL drivers for our customers and great job opportunities for our professional truck drivers.
Our commitment to safety and building solid working relationships with both customers and CDL drivers has allowed us to earn an unparalleled reputation with our Proven Drivers and Exceptional Service.
The FMCSA's website on CSA 2010 has just announced a new Driver Fact Sheet designed to inform CMV drivers about what CSA 2010 means to them.
Early in December 2009, the FMCSA put on 2 listening sessions on their upcoming program, CSA 2010. A total of 1,150 questions were submitted. The following question represents one of the most frequently asked questions regarding CSA 2010:
Will CSA 2010 assign safety ratings to individual commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers? I heard that CSA 2010 is designed to rate CMV drivers and to put many of them out of work this summer.
No. Under CSA 2010, individual CMV drivers will not be assigned safety ratings or safety fitness determinations. Consistent with the current safety rating regulations (49 CFR part 385), individual drivers will continue to be rated, as they are today, following an onsite investigation at their place of business when they operate independently as a "motor carrier" (i.e. have their own USDOT number, operating authority, and insurance). CSA 2010 will provide enhanced tools for Safety Investigators to identify and address drivers with poor safety records as part of motor carrier investigations in order to increase driver accountability for safe driving behavior. CSA 2010 is designed to meet one overriding objective: to increase safety on the Nation's roads. Therefore, it is, by design, a positive program for drivers and carriers with strong safety performance records. Also, it will send a strong message that drivers and carriers with poor safety performance histories need to improve.
Stay tuned for more questions and answers from the FMCSA's CSA 2010 website over the coming weeks!
Driving Ambition is a premier CDL truck driver staffing company serving Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Since 2001, we have specialized in matching safe, experienced CDL drivers for our customers and great job opportunities for our professional truck drivers.
Our commitment to safety and building solid working relationships with both customers and CDL drivers has allowed us to earn an unparalleled reputation with our Proven Drivers and Exceptional Service.
On Tuesday, January 26, the Department of Transportation (DOT) issued a "texting" ban for commercial truck and bus drivers. Effective immediately, the ban prohibits commercial truck and bus drivers from texting while driving using any handheld cell phone or other wireless electronic devices that are brought into a CMV. Drivers who violate the ban are subject to civil or criminal penalties of up to $2,750 per occurrence.
According to the FMCSA, drivers who text while driving are over 20 times more likely to get into an accident than non-distracted drivers. "
The FMCSA defines texting as the review of, or preparation and transmission of, typed messages through any such device or the engagement in any form of electronic data retrieval or electronic data communication through any such device. The texting ban does not prohibit the use of cell phones for purposes other than text messaging. It also does not prohibit use of onboard technology such as electronic dispatching and fleet management systems.
The DOT based its ability to set the ban on an interpretation of a federal rule under Part 390.17, which allows DOT to regulate equipment that "decreases safety." With this approach, DOT has leapfrogged the time-consuming regulatory process. "We think it's our responsibility and obligation to do whatever we can in the near term before we get to a rule to send a signal that we're serious about this," said DOT Secretary LaHood. The FMCSA has begun work on a proposed rule on distracted driving that is likely to include a texting ban but also will cover the use of other onboard equipment.
Enforcement of the ban will be challenging. From LaHood's perspective, enforcement is difficult - "we need to figure it out" - but is just one aspect of a long-term campaign to get people to take individual responsibility for not letting themselves be distracted when they are driving, the same way that public awareness efforts have spread the use of seatbelts and reduced drunken driving.
FMCSA Administrator Anne Ferro also acknowledged that it might be hard for a patrolman to actually see a truck driver texting, but noted that the enforcement does not begin and end there. Carriers and drivers need to be aware that investigators can determine if a distraction such as texting was the cause of a crash. "Texting can be a criminal violation if it precipitates a fatal or injury crash," she said.
The new ban also has another use: "It becomes a motivator, a tool companies use to say, in effect, that for safety purposes, insurance purposes, we must adhere to the law that says you cannot be texting or receiving messages. A lot of our companies are already doing that," said Bill Graves, President of the American Trucking Associations.
Click here for the DOT Press Release and Remarks from Secretary Ray LaHood
For the
Regulatory Guidance Concerning the Applicability of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations to Texting by Commercial Motor Vehicle Drivers, click
here for the text version; click
herefor the .pdf version.
Follow the DOT's progress on combating distracted driving by visiting the website: http://www.distraction.gov/
Driving Ambition is a premier CDL truck driver staffing company serving Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Since 2001, we have specialized in matching safe, experienced CDL drivers for our customers and great job opportunities for our professional truck drivers.
Our commitment to safety and building solid working relationships with both customers and CDL drivers has allowed us to earn an unparalleled reputation with our Proven Drivers and Exceptional Service.
New material is now available online at:
http://csa2010.fmcsa.dot.gov
CSA 2010 Office Poster (PDF, 215.2 KB)
CSA 2010 FMCSA/State Partner Office Poster
Driver Safety Enforcement - What Motor Carriers Need to Know
Tips for Using the Industry Toolkit
Tips for Using the FMCSA/State Partner Toolkit
Passenger Carrier Slides (to augment the Industry Briefing)
Updated - Industry Briefing, January 2010 (PPT, 4.3 MB)
Listening Session Presentations Now Available
FMCSA's December 3rd and 10th public listening session presentations on CSA 2010 are now available online.
Driving Ambition is a premier CDL truck driver staffing company serving Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Since 2001, we have specialized in matching safe, experienced CDL drivers for our customers and great job opportunities for our professional truck drivers.
Our commitment to safety and building solid working relationships with both customers and CDL drivers has allowed us to earn an unparalleled reputation with our Proven Drivers and Exceptional Service.
**Article Courtesy of Marvin Johnson & Associates (www.mjai.com), specializing in truck insurance since 1971.
One common question that we have been receiving about CSA 2010 is "At what score level will FMCSA take some kind of intervention against a carrier?" Unfortunately the answer is not an easy one because it could depend on what type of violations you are experiencing and your history with FMCSA. However, FMCSA has released some threshold numbers that will be the target levels to trigger some type of intervention with the motor carrier. These levels are listed below. As for exactly what intervention will be taken, that depends on the factors discussed above.
One thing that you should notice in the details below is that hazardous materials carriers are held to a higher standard - just one more reason not to hassle with maintaining your hazmat authority if it isn't an important segment of your business.
|
BASIC
|
General
|
Hazmat
|
|
Unsafe Driving
|
72%
|
67%
|
|
Fatigued Driving
|
72%
|
67%
|
|
Driver Fitness
|
77%
|
72%
|
|
Controlled Substance & Alcohol
|
77%
|
72%
|
|
Vehicle Maintenance
|
77%
|
72%
|
|
Improper Loading/Cargo Securement
|
77%
|
72%
|
|
Crash Indicator
|
72%
|
67%
|
Keep in mind that your CSA 2010 scores will not directly compare to your current Safestat scores. It will be much easier to run your scores up under the new system because of the expanded list of items that will count into your scores. In general it is probably safe to assume that your CSA 2010 scores are going to be higher than your current Safestat scores in some of the BASICS. One area that many people will probably have problems in will be the Unsafe Driving BASIC. Currently you can mask a high moving violation score if you have a low driver out of service score, but with CSA 2010 all of those moving violations will be separated out into the Unsafe Driving BASIC.
Driving Ambition is a premier CDL truck driver staffing company serving Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Since 2001, we have specialized in matching safe, experienced CDL drivers for our customers and great job opportunities for our professional truck drivers.
Our commitment to safety and building solid working relationships with both customers and CDL drivers has allowed us to earn an unparalleled reputation with our Proven Drivers and Exceptional Service.
The first of four "listening sessions" to discuss the current Hours of Service (HOS) regulations was held in Arlington, VA on January 19. Motor carriers, truck drivers, safety groups, and other interested parties presented their critiques to a panel of FMCSA officials who guided the listening sessions.
Anne Ferro, the newly installed FMCSA Administrator who was on hand at the eight-hour listening session, stressed to those gathered in person and listening in via audio webcast that she wanted "to receive as many comments as possible" about the current rules. "We want comments from the general public, safety advocates, owner-operators, drivers, and motor carriers...we want to hear from everybody, including [law] enforcement and government officials," Ferro said.
"I take seriously the absolute obligation we have as a federal agency to develop an hours of service rule that mirrors our three core priorities," said Ferro. "First, to raise the bar to entry to the motor [carrier] industry; second, maintaining high [safety] standards to stay in the industry; and third, to remove high- risk operators from our roads and highways. Those three core priorities really frame what we are doing."
Most of the speakers representing motor carriers and drivers were in favor of keeping the current HOS rules - a 14 hour workday, with a maximum 11 hours of drive time and 3 hours for loading/unloading, followed by a 10-hour off-duty period. The current rules also limit drivers to 60/70 hours on duty in 7/8 consecutive days. They then may restart their 7/8 consecutive day period after taking 34 or more consecutive hours off duty - also known as the "34-hour restart" provision.
There were, however, some suggested changes to the current HOS rules that many fleets, drivers, and association executives would like to see - especially in terms of revising the "split sleeper berth provision" that dictates drivers take at least two consecutive hours in the sleeper berth, plus a separate two consecutive hours either in the sleeper berth, off duty, or any combination of the two.
Teamsters, along with other safety groups including Public Citizen, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety and the Truck Safety Coalition , strongly condemned the current HOS rules and want to have them thrown out. Although they oppose the current HOS rules and indicated they'd like to see a reduction in both drive time and overall working hours for truck drivers, no one but Public Citizen has offered any specific alternatives.
Public Citizen's alternative calls for much stricter limits on driver hours, allowing truckers to drive 8 hours rather than 10 or 11, and keep drivers on a circadian rhythm, with a 24-hour cycle, and elimate the 34-hour restart.
Trucking companies large and small are particularly concerned that a wholesale change to the current rules would result in more costs to their operations.
Some attendees took a slightly different approach to the meeting's agenda. Marsha Vande Hei of Schneider National stressed to the FMCSA panel that dealing with sleep disorders, not changing HOS rules per se, should be the agency's primary focus. While Vande Hei said Schneider supports the current rules, she said the carrier would like to see more focus placed on the impact of sleep disorders.
"Fatigue management is a much more broad-based concern," Vande Hei said. "It's estimated that 28% of the truck driver population suffers from sleep disorders. Among Schneider's drivers, we estimate 17% have some sort of sleep disorder."
In the end, Steve Keppler, Executive Director for the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA), voiced a widespread feeling among the attendees that any revision of HOS regulations "need clarity, brevity, and to be simple and practical" to work effectively. "Whatever decision is made with these rules, please keep them in place," he stressed. "Constantly changing the rules creates challenges with consistency and uniformity in compliance and enforcement."
FMCSA plans to hold three other public listening sessions on its HOS reform effort: Friday, January 22, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Hyatt Regency Dallas Forth Worth Airport; Monday, January 25, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Doubletree Hotel Los Angeles International Airport; and Tuesday, January 28, from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Comfort Inn Hotel and Suites in Davenport, IA.
Driving Ambition is a premier CDL truck driver staffing company serving Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Since 2001, we have specialized in matching safe, experienced CDL drivers for our customers and great job opportunities for our professional truck drivers.
Our commitment to safety and building solid working relationships with both customers and CDL drivers has allowed us to earn an unparalleled reputation with our Proven Drivers and Exceptional Service.
A fourth listening session to gather information about a proposed federal hours of service (HOS) rule has been added by the FMCSA.
The session will be Jan. 28 from 1-9 p.m. CST at the Comfort Inn Hotel and Suites, 8300 Northwest Blvd., in Davenport, Iowa.
Many truckers complained that none of the sessions were accessible for those driving big rigs. The site of this fourth session, off Interstate 80 at exit 292, is within walking distance of a Flying J Travel Plaza, which has 146 parking spaces to accommodate truckers.
Additional sessions will be Jan. 19 from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. EST, Doubletree Hotel Crystal City National Airport, Arlington, Va.; Jan. 22, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. CST, Hyatt Regency DFW, Dallas, Texas; and Jan. 25, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. PST, Doubletree LAX, El Segundo, Calif. All sessions are open to the public.
The agency wants to hear from commercial drivers, carriers, owner-operators, safety advocates and others about topics such as rest and on-duty time, sleeper berth use and the effect the current hours-of-service rule has on loading and unloading times for drivers.
For more information go to http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/ and click on Hours of Service Listening Sessions icon on upper right side of the home page.
On Jan. 12, the FMCSA announced to the Board of Directors of the Unified Carrier Registration Agreement (UCRA) that publication of the 2010 fees to be imposed under the UCRA program will be delayed until much later this year, perhaps April.
The UCRA fees must be reset, since Congress eliminated trailing equipment from the fee calculation by 2008 legislation effective in 2010. FMCSA is charged with setting the fees by means of a federal rulemaking. Last fall, FMCSA proposed much higher fees that have been strongly opposed by many industry groups. Now, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has determined that the rulemaking is "significant," which in this context means that OMB will conduct a full economic review of the matter, a process that commonly takes at least 90 days.
States participating in the UCRA presumably cannot collect anything under the program until the fees are published following the completion of all reviews.
Driving Ambition is a premier CDL truck driver staffing company serving Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Since 2001, we have specialized in matching safe, experienced CDL drivers for our customers and great job opportunities for our professional truck drivers.
Our commitment to safety and building solid working relationships with both customers and CDL drivers has allowed us to earn an unparalleled reputation with our Proven Drivers and Exceptional Service.
The American Trucking Association (ATA) is co-sponsoring the first-ever national conference on sleep apnea and commercial motor vehicle drivers on Wednesday, May 12, 2010, at The Westin Baltimore Washington Airport - BWI in Baltimore. The conference will feature presentations and panel discussions that focus on providing a common understanding of sleep apnea diagnosis and treatment, clarifying current and proposed regulations, establishing an ongoing forum of experts to generate guidance for improvements, and providing trucking management with the resources to improve employee health and safety.
The illness afflicts at least 20 million Americans - equal to or more than asthma or diabetes - yet more than 85% remain undiagnosed, according to the American Sleep Apnea Association (ASAA), which is co-hosting the ATA's sleep apnea conference. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a condition in which an individual's airway is blocked while sleeping, typically resulting in frequent breathing interruptions lasting from 10 seconds to more than a minute at a time, loud snoring and non-restorative sleep. One controlled study found that people with OSA have a six times greater risk of being involved in a traffic crash and a seven times greater risk of having multiple crashes.
"Sleep apnea is a major problem in the truck driver community," said Dana Voien, President of SleepSafe Drivers. He said sleep apnea affects about 6% to 12% of the adult male population, but 28% to 30% of truck drivers - a factor he ties to the unusually high obesity rate among drivers. In addition to being a potential safety risk on the highway, drivers with sleep apnea face a long list of increased health risks, including hypertension, diabetes, memory loss, chronic fatigue, obesity, and a doubling of the chance of heart attack and stroke.
The one-day conference will be preceded by a reception and keynote address from NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman on May 11, 2010.
For more information, visit http://www.satc2010.org/.
Driving Ambition is a premier CDL truck driver staffing company serving Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Since 2001, we have specialized in matching safe, experienced CDL drivers for our customers and great job opportunities for our professional truck drivers.
Our commitment to safety and building solid working relationships with both customers and CDL drivers has allowed us to earn an unparalleled reputation with our Proven Drivers and Exceptional Service.
The FMCSA is now beginning the process of rewriting of the current hours of service (HOS) regulations governing approximately 7 million truck drivers.
Top U.S. trucking executives, however, are warning their customers and others that the current rules are working fine and have improved truck safety, and any radical changes would be costly to shippers and might not be a safety benefit.
The issue involves many moving parts but essentially will come down to balancing the safety and economic needs of two disparate groups which rarely see eye-to-eye on most topics: owner-operators and large trucking companies.
This latest rewrite was a result of a settlement last Oct. 26 between FMCSA and Public Citizen, the Teamsters union, and other advocacy groups who had challenged the rule in courts. Under those rules, truck drivers get 14 hours to drive 11 hours following 10 straight hours off duty. Drivers are limited to 60 hours driving in seven days or 70 hours in eight days. Any period of 34 straight off hours "resets" a driver's work week.
FMCSA has until mid-summer of 2010 to issue a proposed rulemaking to the DOT. The advisory committee hopes to have an outline of its proposal in letter form to FMCSA by early February. A final rule is required by law to be issued by 2012. The current rule remains in effect until then.
Motor carriers, by and large, would like to keep the HOS rules as they are. They say they are working well, based on sound science and have worked to improve highway safety.
Safety has greatly improved while operating under the current hours of service rules. Since the latest revision began in 2004, the trucking industry is citing statistics that show truck-related fatalities have decreased by 19 percent and injuries have fallen by 13 percent. The trucking industry's truck fatality rate is at its lowest since the DOT began keeping truck crash statistics in 1975.
"If it [FMCSA] continues to use sound science to formulate a change, and not just listen to the loudness of the special interest groups involved, I think we will be fine," said Douglas G. Duncan, President & CEO of FedEx Freight. "We as an industry have a great safety record. There's nothing in the current rules that we have been able to find that has harmed safety. "
Any radical change would be costly and might not work as intended. Some of the areas that would require a complete overhaul would include: retraining the fleet, reprogramming of log auditing software, route and network re-engineering, dispatch software logic modifications, and driver pay adjustments, to name just a few.
In addition, contracts with shippers will have to be re-negotiated, as current rates are based on current hours of service rules. Inadequate highway infrastructure will be stressed further as additional trucks will be needed to maintain supply chain operations, leading to greater congestion and potential public safety consequences.
On the opposite side of the issue are independent drivers as represented by the 158,000-member Owner-Operator Independent Driver Association (OOIDA). It has called for "meaningful" changes that include all aspects of driving that affect safety, including driver pay and carrier demands on non-driving aspects of the job, including loading and unloading trucks and issues related to logging for sleeper berth (split sleeper berth provision) and the ability to interrupt the 14-hour day for needed rest periods.
"Truckers need the flexibility to get rest when needed rather than more restrictive rules," said Todd Spencer, Executive Vice-President of OOIDA.
FMCSA officials have said they will not propose a specific rule or conduct a rulemaking on just the 11 hours of driving and 34-hour restart provisions, but rather will take a comprehensive look at the entire issue.
Driving Ambition is a premier CDL truck driver staffing company serving Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Since 2001, we have specialized in matching safe, experienced CDL drivers for our customers and great job opportunities for our professional truck drivers.
Our commitment to safety and building solid working relationships with both customers and CDL drivers has allowed us to earn an unparalleled reputation with our Proven Drivers and Exceptional Service.
The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) has announced a dramatic expansion of its free TrafficWise traveler information service to include updated reports for all state roads, U.S. highways and interstates in Indiana.
Effective immediately, motorists now have a new tool to plan their travels by visiting http://www.trafficwise.in.gov/ or dialing 800-261-ROAD (7623).
Motorists accustomed to dialing the Indiana State Police Winter Road Conditions Hotline at (800) 261-ROAD (7623) will now reach the new INDOT TrafficWise service. In addition to winter road conditions, callers will also hear year-round reports of traffic delays caused by roadway maintenance, construction or crashes.
Controlled by a caller's voice or numeric keypad, the phone system provides traffic reports for individual state highways or major metropolitan regions.
Additional information is available on the INDOT TrafficWise Web site at http://www.trafficwise.in.gov/, including reports of future road construction or maintenance. Links to existing INDOT TrafficWise sites provide traffic speed estimates and snapshots from 80 traffic cameras within the Northwest and Central Indiana urban areas.
"INDOT's TrafficWise Traveler Information Service is part of an ongoing effort to improve the efficiency and safety of our highways using Intelligent Transportation Systems," Reed said. "Deployment of advanced technology helps route traffic to cut down on delays and its effects, including secondary crashes and pollution. This also helps maximize use of the existing road network, reducing the long-term need for costly and disruptive road expansion projects."
Driving Ambition is a premier CDL truck driver staffing company serving Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Since 2001, we have specialized in matching safe, experienced CDL drivers for our customers and great job opportunities for our professional truck drivers.
Our commitment to safety and building solid working relationships with both customers and CDL drivers has allowed us to earn an unparalleled reputation with our Proven Drivers and Exceptional Service.
Here is a great winter safety poster, Ice and Snow, Take it Slow, courtesy of the Ohio Trucking Association, through the members of the Lucas County Truck Safety Committee, a standing committee of the Lucas County Traffic Safety Program.
Trucking companies are encouraged to print out the poster and display in the break room, at the time clock, or wherever drivers might congregate. They could also be used as pay check stuffers.
More posters designed with safety messages and information specifically for the commercial driver will be provided throughout the course of the year by the Lucas County Truck Safety Committee.
Driving Ambition is a premier CDL truck driver staffing company serving Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Since 2001, we have specialized in matching safe, experienced CDL drivers for our customers and great job opportunities for our professional truck drivers.
Our commitment to safety and building solid working relationships with both customers and CDL drivers has allowed us to earn an unparalleled reputation with our Proven Drivers and Exceptional Service.
Jeremy Reymer, President & CEO of Driving Ambition, Inc., receives a Statement of Support for the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR).
The ESGR is a Department of Defense organization that's 5200+ strong, made up of volunteers in both government and civilian workplaces to continue the mission to "gain and maintain employer support for all of our reservists and guardsmen." It is a staff group within the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs (OASD/RA), which is in itself a part of the Office of the Secretary of Defense.
The ESGR Statement of Support Program seeks to inform and educate employers about their rights and responsibilities towards their employees who serve in the National Guard and Reserve, and to also recognize and reward those employers who go "over and above" the requirements of the law.
A Statement of Support signing employer denotes the following:
- We fully recognize, honor and enforce the Uniformed Services Employment and Re-Employment Rights Act (USERRA).
- Our managers and supervisors will have the tools they need to effectively manage those employees who serve in the Guard and Reserve.
- We will continually recognize and support our country's service members and their families in peace, in crises and in war.
To participate in the Statement of Support Program, please complete the Statement of Support form.
Driving Ambition is a premier CDL truck driver staffing company serving Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Since 2001, we have specialized in matching safe, experienced CDL drivers for our customers and great job opportunities for our professional truck drivers.
Our commitment to safety and building solid working relationships with both customers and CDL drivers has allowed us to earn an unparalleled reputation with our Proven Drivers and Exceptional Service.
Do the circumstances warrant DOT post-accident tests?
Suppose your CDL driver calls in saying there's been an accident. Everyone's adrenaline is running, and you may have to pry the details out of him or her to determine if DOT post-accident drug and alcohol testing is required. The following checklist will aid in deciding your course of action:
-
Did the accident occur in a vehicle that requires a CDL?
- If yes, proceed to question 2.
- If no, you cannot test under §382.303, regardless of the licensing of the driver. The driver is not subject to Part 382 in this instance. Stop here.
- Was there a fatality as a result of the accident within 8 hours of the accident?
- If yes, send the driver for both a drug and alcohol test. Stop here.
- If no, proceed to question 3.
- Was there a fatality as a result of the accident occurring beyond 8 hours following the accident, but within 32 hours?
- If yes, send the driver for just drug testing, and document that alcohol testing could not be performed because it was past the allowable time frame for testing. Stop here.
- If no, proceed to question 4. You cannot test if the fatality occurs beyond 32 hours after the accident. Testing would be based on other variables if they exist.
- Was there an injury as a result of the accident that required treatment away from the scene?
- If yes, proceed to question 6.
- If no, continue with question 5.
- Was there disabling damage to one of the vehicles involved in the accident that required towing?
- If yes, proceed to question 6.
- If no, stop here (i.e., no damage, no injury, no fatality). It does not qualify for testing.
- Was your driver cited, plus does one of the situations listed in questions 4 and/or 5 exist?
- If yes, proceed to question 7.
- If no, the incident does not qualify for DOT testing.
- Was the driver cited at the scene or within 8 hours of the accident, plus does one of the situations in questions 4 and/or 5 exist?
- If yes, send the driver the driver for both a drug and alcohol test.
- If no, proceed to question 8.
- Was your driver cited later than 8 hours but within 32 hours of the accident, plus does one of the situations in questions 4 and/or 5 exist?
- If yes, just test the driver for drugs and document that alcohol testing could not be performed since it was past the allowable time frame for testing.
- If no, proceed to question 9.
- Was the driver cited beyond 32 hours of the accident, plus does one of the situations in questions 4 and/or 5 exist?
- If yes, you cannot conduct either test type. Document that it was beyond allowable time frame for testing. Stop here.
As you can see from this checklist, all the variables must be met in order to test under DOT rules. You cannot test "just in case" circumstances change. This is a misrepresentation of the test and a violation.
If you conduct testing in "all post-accident circumstances" as a matter of company policy, it must be done using a non-DOT form and represented as a non-DOT test to the driver. The collector must also be aware that it is not a regulated test. The drug test results must be linked to a separate non-DOT lab account for reporting purposes. The results of these non-DOT tests hold no DOT consequences. In addition, if circumstances change and a DOT post-accident test is required, these non-DOT tests cannot be substituted to satisfy the DOT requirements. The driver must be sent again for another round of tests.
Driving Ambition is a premier CDL truck driver staffing company serving Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Since 2001, we have specialized in matching safe, experienced CDL drivers for our customers and great job opportunities for our professional truck drivers.
Our commitment to safety and building solid working relationships with both customers and CDL drivers has allowed us to earn an unparalleled reputation with our Proven Drivers and Exceptional Service.
Several new laws affecting the trucking industry took effect on January 1, 2010. Following is a summary of the various changes to laws that affect trucking industry companies.
Uniform 80,000-pound Truck Access
On January 1, Illinois joined the other 49 states that use the Federal Bridge Formula and a corresponding 80,000-pound gross weight limit for commercial vehicles as the default weight limit on nearly all roads, state and local.
Illinois' outdated 73,280-pound limit was eliminated as of the first of the year. In addition, the 18,000-pound axle and 32,000-pound tandem limits was eliminated. The default axle and tandem weight limit for all roads in Illinois as of January 1 is 20,000-pounds and 34,000-pounds, respectively, unless a road is posted for a lower limit.
Please note that if you currently have a Special Haul Vehicle (SHV), you will still need to pay for the SHV sticker and the vehicle is still limited to a gross weight of 72,000-pounds. However, as of January 1, the axle-weight limit has increased from 18,000-pounds to 20,000-pounds and the tandem weight limit has increased from 32,000-pounds to 34,000-pounds for SHV's.
It is also important to note that state and local jurisdictions will still have the ability to post roads and bridges with a lower limit in certain circumstances. An elevated structure (bridge, culvert, etc.) that has been inspected and rated to a lower weight limit may be posted for the lower weight limit. Local jurisdictions will also have the ability to post roads for up to 90 days for freeze-thaw cycles.
Also, the cost for overweight fines will be doubled as of 1/1/10. The fee schedule for overweight fines will be as follows:
- Up to and including 2,000 pounds overweight: $100
- 2,001 through 2,500 pounds overweight: $270
- 2,501 through 3,000 pounds overweight: $330
- 3,001 through 3,500 pounds overweight: $520
- 3,501 through 4,000 pounds overweight: $600
- 4,001 through 4,500 pounds overweight: $850
- 4,501 through 5,000 pounds overweight: $950
- 5,001 or more pounds: $1,500 for the first 500 pounds overweight and $150 for each additional increment of 500 pounds overweight or fraction thereof.
Uniform 80,000-pound truck access was included in the $29-billion Capital Bill for road, bridge, and school construction. The capital construction plan is funded by increases in automobile registration fees, non-CDL driver's license fees, and title transfer fees. Funds will also come from applying the state's 6.25% sales tax to candy, non-carbonated beverages, and beauty products. The Capital Bill also relies on increased taxes on beer, wine, and liquor as well as selling lotto tickets over the internet and legalizing video poker throughout the state.
Uniform 65 MPH Speed Limit on Rural Interstates
As of January 1, the maximum speed limit on rural interstates outside of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will Counties for trucks and other combination vehicles is 65 mph, the same as for automobiles.
Drivers should be aware that speed limits have changed only on rural interstates and only in areas outside of the 6-county Chicago-area.
There are several areas particularly in Will and Kane Counties, where the speed limit will remain split 65/55 for cars and trucks. In addition, the new law does not affect four-lane divided highways that are not classified as a rural interstate.
Texting While Driving Ban
Texting while driving is a violation of state law and the offense is considered a moving violation as of January 1.
The new law prohibits a person from "operating a motor vehicle on a roadway while using an electronic communication device to compose, send, or read an electronic message."
Motorists may use an electronic communication device in hands-free or voice-activated mode, to report an emergency, while parked on the shoulder of a roadway, or if the vehicle is stopped due to normal traffic being obstructed and the vehicle is in neutral or park.
Truck drivers are permitted to read only a message that is displayed on a permanently installed communication device.
Cell Phones Banned in School Zones / Construction Zones
The use of a wireless telephone is now prohibited at any time in a school speed zone or in a highway construction zone. Wireless phones can be used in the school zone or work zone in the event of an emergency or if the phone is used in a voice-activated mode.
Uniform 8'6" Truck Width
As of January 1, Illinois' legal vehicle width limit is 102" on all vehicles for all roads. Prior to the passage of this legislation, 102" wide vehicles were restricted to Class I and Class II highways only and the limit for Class III roads and local roads was 96".
Anti-Indemnification for Motor Carrier Contracts
Effective upon Governor Quinn's signature on August 26, 2009, certain provisions in motor carrier contracts are void.
The new law voids any contract provision that a company, such as a manufacturer, asks a motor carrier to sign that attempts to indemnify or hold the company harmless, against any liability for loss or damage resulting from the negligence of the company.
Idling Fines Increase in Chicago and Metro-East St. Louis Areas
Beginning on January 1, the fine for violating the state's 10-minute diesel idling limit increased from $50 for a first offense and $150 for a second offense to $90 for a first offense and $500 for a second offense.
Diesel engine idling limits are in affect only in the Chicago-area and in the Metro-East St. Louis-area. The engine idling limit remains 10-minutes per hour and the list of exemptions from the idling limit still remain in effect, including when the outdoor temperature is above 80-degrees or below 32-degrees.
Driving Ambition is a premier CDL truck driver staffing company serving Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Since 2001, we have specialized in matching safe, experienced CDL drivers for our customers and great job opportunities for our professional truck drivers.
Our commitment to safety and building solid working relationships with both customers and CDL drivers has allowed us to earn an unparalleled reputation with our Proven Drivers and Exceptional Service.
The Ohio Department of Public Safety (ODPS) issued their suggested Top 10 New Year Resolutions for Ohio Trucking Safety:
10. To yield to pedestrians
9. To slow down and move over when approaching an emergency vehicle on the side of the road
8. To give myself plenty of distance between me and the vehicle in front of me
7. To give myself plenty of time and not to rush
6. To be courteous to other drivers and to use my turn signals
5. To use my common sense by paying attention when I drive and to drive responsibly
4. To never drink and drive
3. To not let others drink and drive
2. To make sure everyone in my vehicle is buckled up
1. To always wear my seat belt
The ODPS encourages you to share these Top 10 New Year's Resolutions with others in your community. By following these 10 resolutions we can continue the good work that we all strive to do by saving lives and reducing injuries on Ohio's roadways.
TRAFFIC SAFETY WEB SITES TO ASSIST YOU DURING THE UPCOMING YEAR
The Ohio Department of Public Safety
http://publicsafety.ohio.gov/
The Ohio Traffic Safety Office
http://publicsafety.ohio.gov/
2009-2010 OHIO TRAFFIC SAFETY OFFICE COMMUNICATIONS CALENDAR
Find important event dates along with other communications on the OTSO website at:
http://ohiohighwaysafetyoffice.ohio.gov/2009_2010_OTSOCalendar.xls
STATE CRASH MAP - 2008 vs. 2009 Year-to-Date Fatality Comparison
The map at the following link illustrates a 2008 vs. 2009 year-to-date fatality comparison for each county. Click on an individual county to view its three-year fatal crash history.
http://statepatrol.ohio.gov/fatal_comp.stm
REMINDER MESSAGE
The mission of the Ohio Traffic Safety Office is to save lives and reduce injuries on Ohio's Roadways. Your continued support in joining us to increase restraint usage among all vehicle occupants, decreasing impaired driving and decreasing reckless operation of vehicles on Ohio's roads will continue to save lives and reduce suffering on Ohio's roadways. Together, we can make a difference.
Ohio Traffic Safety Office
Driving Ambition is a premier CDL truck driver staffing company serving Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Since 2001, we have specialized in matching safe, experienced CDL drivers for our customers and great job opportunities for our professional truck drivers.
Our commitment to safety and building solid working relationships with both customers and CDL drivers has allowed us to earn an unparalleled reputation with our Proven Drivers and Exceptional Service.
Distracted Driving" earns the 2009 Word of the Year choice in Webster's New World® College Dictionary.
"There's no denying that this phrase became part of my vocabulary this past year," says DOT Secretary Ray LaHood as he shares his appreciation of the Word of the Year choice on his Official Blog (http://fastlane.dot.gov/). "I think its rapid intrusion into our national vocabulary shows what an epidemic distracted driving has become."
Webster's explains the choice as "a sign of the times surely, distracted driving is another reflection - and consequence - of our ongoing romance with all things digital and mobile and the enhanced capabilities they provide. While it now may be easier and quicker to feed our multitasking habits, it is not always safe, and many jurisdictions are formalizing that position by making it a crime to text or otherwise use a cell phone while driving."
Click here to view Ray LaHood's reaction to the Word of the Year choice on his Official Blog.
A new website and a new television public service ad are the latest tools in the federal government's campaign against distracted drivers. The ad, featuring DOT Secretary Ray LaHood, began airing across the nation reminding drivers to keep their focus on the road - and off their cell phones. The website, http://www.distraction.gov/, contains information about the dangers of texting while driving and about how to spread the message against the practice.
"Today its second nature to remind our friends and loved ones to buckle up and not to drink and drive, and we have to send the same message about texting and talking on the phone," said Secretary LaHood. "It will take everyone working together to put an end to needless crashes and deaths."
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) research shows that nearly 6,000 people died in 2008 in crashes involving a distracted or inattentive driver, and more than half a million were injured. On any given day in 2008, more than 800,000 vehicles were driven by someone using a hand-held cell phone.
Driving Ambition is a premier CDL truck driver staffing company serving Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Since 2001, we have specialized in matching safe, experienced CDL drivers for our customers and great job opportunities for our professional truck drivers.
Our commitment to safety and building solid working relationships with both customers and CDL drivers has allowed us to earn an unparalleled reputation with our Proven Drivers and Exceptional Service.
Beginning January 1, 2010, Illinois, New Hampshire and Oregon put into effect state-wide bans on texting while driving. Oregon also banned use of handheld cellular phones while driving. For a current list of states that have texting or handheld cell phone bans, see below:
State Laws on Distracted Driving
Some states and territories have enacted bans on hand-held devices or texting to help reduce the dangers to the public from distracted driving.
A ban on hand-held devices has been enacted in:
- California
- Connecticut
- District of Columbia (D.C.)
- New Jersey
- New York
- Oregon
- Washington
- Virgin Islands
A texting ban has been enacted in:
- Alaska
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- District of Columbia
- Illinois
- Louisiana
- Maryland
- Minnesota
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New York
- North Carolina
- Oregon
- Rhode Island
- Tennessee
- Utah
- Virginia
- Washington
- Guam
Some states ban cell phone use in school zones or construction sites, and some place restrictions on novice drivers and school bus drivers.
Six states have laws that prohibit local jurisdictions from enacting restrictions. They are Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, and Oklahoma. In other states, localities are allowed to ban cell phone use or texting while driving.
List of state bans
For more information, including an updating state-by-state list of bans in effect, see the Governors Highway Safety Association website.
Driving Ambition is a premier CDL truck driver staffing company serving Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Since 2001, we have specialized in matching safe, experienced CDL drivers for our customers and great job opportunities for our professional truck drivers.
Our commitment to safety and building solid working relationships with both customers and CDL drivers has allowed us to earn an unparalleled reputation with our Proven Drivers and Exceptional Service.
The FMCSA is asking people interested in participating in listening sessions on a future Hours-of-Service rule to consider questions on its website.
The agency posted questions in five areas of discussion in preparation of the upcoming listening sessions. The questions are presented for discussion and answers should be based upon the experience and information participants can share with the FMCSA.
The topics for the questions are:
-
Rest and On-Duty Time
- Restart to the 60- and 70-hour rule
- Sleeper Berth Use
- Loading and Unloading Time
- General
Comments may also be submitted via:
-
- Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
- Fax at 1-202-493-2251
Each submission must include the agency name and docket number, which is FMCSA 2004-19608.
Driving Ambition is a premier CDL truck driver staffing company serving Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Since 2001, we have specialized in matching safe, experienced CDL drivers for our customers and great job opportunities for our professional truck drivers.
Our commitment to safety and building solid working relationships with both customers and CDL drivers has allowed us to earn an unparalleled reputation with our Proven Drivers and Exceptional Service.
The FMCSA has announced it will hold four listening sessions in January to gather information and comments as the agency prepares a rulemaking proposal on hours-of-service requirements for property-carrying commercial vehicle drivers. The agency wants to hear about topics such as rest and on-duty time, sleeper berth use and the effect the current hours-of-service rule has on loading and unloading times for drivers. A record of the listening sessions will be placed in the public docket for the rulemaking.
"Public input is critical to the rulemaking process," said FMCSA Administrator Anne S. Ferro. "The public listening sessions will provide opportunities for a broad cross-section of stakeholders to present views, comments and relevant research on this forthcoming federal safety regulation proposal."
Hours-of-service requirements are designed to help prevent commercial motor vehicle-related accidents, injuries and fatalities by prescribing on-duty hours and rest periods for commercial drivers. The FMCSA has scheduled three listening sessions to encourage public participation on this issue and will schedule a fourth listening session in the coming days.
* Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Doubletree Hotel Crystal City National Airport
300 Army Navy Drive, Arlington, Virginia 22202
9 a.m. - 5 p.m. EST
* Friday, January 22, 2010
Hyatt Regency Dallas Forth Worth Airport
DFW International Parkway, Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas 75261
9 a.m. - 5 p.m. CST
* Monday, January 25, 2010
Doubletree Hotel Los Angeles International Airport
1985 East Grand Avenue, El Segundo, California 90245
9 a.m. - 5 p.m. PST
For more information on the listening sessions, including several questions on possible alternatives to the current hours-of-service requirements, please visit the FMCSA website at www.fmcsa.dot.gov.
Driving Ambition is a premier CDL truck driver staffing company serving Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Since 2001, we have specialized in matching safe, experienced CDL drivers for our customers and great job opportunities for our professional truck drivers.
Our commitment to safety and building solid working relationships with both customers and CDL drivers has allowed us to earn an unparalleled reputation with our Proven Drivers and Exceptional Service.
On December 17, 2009, a final rule was submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review regarding electronic onboard recorders (EOBRs) for Hours-of-Service (HOS) compliance. The OMB review is the last step before the rule is published.
According to what is known publicly, this rulemaking would amend the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) to incorporate new performance standards for EOBRs installed in commercial motor vehicles manufactured 2 years after the effective date of a final rule.
The contents of the final rule will not become public until it's released by the OMB. In the proposed rule, FMCSA called for the following EOBR performance requirements:
- Ability to identify the individual driver
- Tamper resistance
- Ability to produce records for audit
- Ability of roadside enforcement personnel to access the HOS information quickly and easily
- Level of protection afforded other personal, operational, or proprietary information
- Cost
- Driver acceptability
The OMB has up to 90 days to review a rule so the final rule should be out sometime in February.
Driving Ambition is a premier CDL truck driver staffing company serving Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Since 2001, we have specialized in matching safe, experienced CDL drivers for our customers and great job opportunities for our professional truck drivers.
Our commitment to safety and building solid working relationships with both customers and CDL drivers has allowed us to earn an unparalleled reputation with our Proven Drivers and Exceptional Service.