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FMCSA to study how to determine crash fault
WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. regulators are preparing a two-year demonstration program that will help determine which "less complex" crashes should be considered preventable for the purpose of a carrier's safety rating. It's the latest step in an overhaul of the Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) program, which scores violations under Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvements Categories (BASICS) including a "crash indicator". Carriers have for some time been asking how to remove scores for crashes that they don't believe are their fault, Joe DeLorenzo
U.S. private fleets report productivity spike, aging drivers
KING CITY, ON - Private fleets in the U.S. appear to be in an enviable position. Productivity is up, driver turnover is low, and a growing number of operations are investing in safety-related tools. But initial results from the National Private Truck Council's annual benchmarking survey also show there are still challenges to overcome, particularly when it comes to an aging driver population.
Drivers paying steep price for apnea tests
ARLINGTON, VA - Truck drivers are paying a real price for the screening and treatment of Obstructive Sleep Apena (OSA), a condition that obstructs breathing patterns and can wake sufferers hundreds of times per night, the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) has found. The review of more than 800 commercial drivers quantifies costs and other impacts of driver screening for the first time.
Cargo thieves nuts about nuts: report
AUSTIN, TX -- The upcoming harvest season for one particular type of food is expected to get increased attention again from cargo thieves following big jumps in stealing the previous two years. Nuts have become a sought after commodity for organized cargo thefts because of their high value density per truckload and typically low security protocols, according to a new report by the logistics security services provider FreightWatch International "Since the harvest season for most commercially grown nuts is from August to September, it stands to reason that the third quarter of each year tends to record the most nuts thefts, as was the case in 2014 and 2015," the report says.
CBSA eManifest Deadline Quickly Approaching
LANGLEY, BC - Beginning Jan. 10, 2016, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) will begin issuing Administrative Monetary Penalty System fines to carriers who do not comply with eManifest requirements, ending the six-month educational enforcement period and its zero-rated AMPS penalties, according to the British Columbia Trucking Association. Empty and in-transit conveyances continue to be exceptions. Advance Commercial Information (ACI) eMainfest requires motor carriers to transmit manifest information electronically at least one hour prior to a truck's arrival at the first port of entry into Canada. Carriers can send information identifying the truck, trailer, shipment(s) and driver to CBSA through its free, web-based ACI portal, a direct connection to CBSA or a service provider.
U.S. in-transit shipments are almost back
WASHINGTON, DC -- The U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP) agency is moving forward on a pilot program aiming to simplify Canadian shipments in-transit through the United States. That is, loads originating in Canada and ending in Canada but travelling via the U.S. en route. In fact, CBP's In-Transit Manifest Pilot Program will work to restore the once common in-transit practice that was curtailed by post-9/11 changes to U.S. border security procedures. Nine Canadian carriers involved in the program will be able to use a limited set of data when crossing the border, easing the administrative burden significantly. According to a notice published in the U.S. Federal Register yesterday, "Test participants will submit electronically an in-transit manifest with a relaxed validation for the value data element and they will not have to provide the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) number."
‘Capricious’ ELD mandate challenged by OOIDA
CHICAGO, IL -- Claiming that the coming U.S. mandate for electronic logging devices to be used by interstate truck drivers is "arbitrary and capricious", the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) has filed an appeal to challenge the rule. OOIDA is challenging the U.S. ELD mandateELDs won't improve safety, the organization claims, adding that the mandate propagated by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is in violation of 4th Amendment rights against reasonable searches and seizures. The mandate requires that truck drivers use ELDs to track their driving and non-driving activities even though such devices can only track movement and location of a vehicle. The FMCSA finalized the rule late last year. OOIDA, representing small-business truckers, stated its arguments in a legal brief filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit. "The agency provided no proof of their claims that this mandate would improve highway safety," said Jim Johnston, OOIDA president and CEO. "There is simply no proof that the costs, burdens and privacy infringements associated with this mandate are justified." His point is not made in a vacuum. In fact the FMCSA is now being urged, and strongly, to make a bunch of improvements in its data and research methods "to support a more comprehensive understanding of the relationships between operator fatigue and highway safety and between fatigue and long-term health."
U.S. to Study Flexible Sleeper Berth Rules for Truckers
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has decided to spend US$2.5 million to study a flexible hours-of-service safety provision that will allow long-haul truck drivers to split their required sleeper berth time into shorter periods.
