What is the cost of texting in a truck?

Most of us have picked up the cell to look at a text while we are driving. This can be very costly for a truck driver. Here is what the FMCSA has to say on this issue:

FMCSA has published new rules that restrict texting and the use of hand-held mobile phones by truck and bus drivers while operating a commercial motor vehicle (CMV).

Research commissioned by FMCSA shows the odds of being involved in a safety-critical event (e.g., crash, near-crash, unintentional lane deviation) are 23.2 times greater for CMV drivers who text while driving than for those who do not. Texting drivers took their eyes off the forward roadway for an average of 4.6 seconds. At 55 mph, this equates to a driver traveling 371 feet, or the approximate length of a football field (including the end zones)—without looking at the roadway!

What exactly is “Texting”?

Texting means manually entering text into, or reading text from, an electronic device.

Texting includes (but is not limited to), short message services, e-mailing, instant messaging, a command or request to access a Web page, pressing more than a single button to initiate or terminate a call using a mobile telephone, or engaging in any other form of electronic text retrieval or entry, for present or future communication.

What does this rule mean to you?

Fines and Penalties - Texting while driving can result in driver disqualification. Penalties can be up to $2,750 for drivers and up to $11,000 for employers who allow or require drivers to use a hand-held communications device for texting while driving.

Disqualification - Multiple convictions for texting while driving a CMV can result in a driver disqualification by FMCSA. Multiple violations of State law prohibiting texting while driving a CMV that requires a CDL is a serious traffic violation that could result in a CDL driver being disqualified for up to 120 days. 

What are the risks? - Texting is risky because it causes the driver to take his/her eyes off the roadway. Dispatching devices that are part of a fleet management system can be used for other purposes, but texting on a dispatching device is indistinguishable from texting on another text-capable device, and is therefore prohibited.

Impact on Safety Measurement System (SMS) Results - Violations negatively impact SMS results, and they carry the maximum severity weight.

Compliance

Simply do not type or read a text message while driving a CMV!

 No_Texting_Rule_Fact_Sheet.pdf

OOIDA petitions to intervene in cross-border trucking lawsuit

(Grain Valley, Mo., April 8, 2015) – The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association filed a petition with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit to intervene in a cross-border trucking lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

The lawsuit, filed in March 2015 by the Teamsters and safety advocate groups, challenges the government’s decision to grant permanent operating authority to Mexico-domiciled trucking companies to conduct long-haul trucking services throughout the United States.

The Association’s petition states that as the representative of small-business truck drivers, OOIDA can bring a unique practical and legal perspective compared to the other petitioners regarding the ability of Mexico-domiciled trucking companies to operate safely on U.S. highways. Additionally, the motion points out that the economic interests of small-business truck drivers differs from the interests represented by the other petitioners.

OOIDA contends that the U.S. DOT’s three-year pilot program did not generate enough data to reach an informed conclusion about whether the border should be opened. The Association questioned the evaluation and validity of the information collected during the pilot program in this letter to FMCSA. OOIDA contends that the border should not be opened unless and until Mexico establishes equivalent regulatory trucking standards to that of the United States and proves that its trucking industry can fully comply with U.S. safety regulations.

Editor’s note: The Association’s official publication, Land Line Magazine published this article on this latest development on the issue.

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association is the only national trade association representing the interests of small-business trucking professionals and professional truck drivers. The Association currently has more than 150,000 members nationwide. OOIDA was established in 1973 and is headquartered in the Greater Kansas City, Mo., area.

FMCSA Announces New CSA Smartphone App

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) today announced a new Smartphone app that will allow for more convenient access to currently available online safety performance information for interstate truck and bus companies.

“By making currently available safety information on interstate truck and bus companies more easily accessible for both law enforcement personnel and the general public, we are providing greater transparency while making our roadways safer for everyone.  Safety is our highest priority, so we are committed to using every resource available at our finger tips to ensure the safety of travelers,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx.Called “QCMobile,” (QC standing for “Query Central”), the new app is expected to be a particularly valuable tool for state and federal law enforcement personnel, as well as insurers, brokers, freight-forwarders, and others interested in reviewing the USDOT registration and safety performance information of motor carriers.

“FMCSA will continue to use all the tools, resources, and partnerships available to further strengthen commercial vehicle safety across the country,” said FMCSA Acting Administrator Scott Darling.  “Aggressive safety enforcement, research, and technology development and deployment, combined with strong stakeholder participation, will continue to be directed toward removing unsafe trucks and buses from our roadways and protecting every traveler from needless harm.”

Law enforcement officers and commercial motor vehicle safety inspectors use customized software at the roadside to log-into national safety databases to obtain highly detailed safety information on all interstate truck and bus companies.

The new QCMobile app, which requires no log-in, immediately reveals whether the federal operating status of the carrier is authorized while helping to expedite an “inspect/pass” decision by a certified commercial vehicle safety inspector.

QCMobile retrieves data from a number of FMCSA sources and provides a clear summary of the results.  Law enforcement officers and safety inspectors then have the option of retrieving more detailed information on carriers covering their seven Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASICs) that are a part of FMCSA’s cornerstone safety program, Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA).

FMCSA is proactively working to implement the provisions of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21), as well as advancing core safety initiatives including the CSA program.  CSA is designed to further reduce the number and severity of crashes involving large trucks and buses by providing law enforcement personnel, motor carriers, and professional truck and bus drivers with detailed information outlining areas of potential safety concern, while also triggering processes to implement corrective action.

The free QCMobile app is available for both Apple and Android devices. Visit the iTunes App Store or Google Play to download QCMobile.

http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/

$4 Million to be Spent on HOS Study

The Hours of Service (HOS) rules will be the subject of an extensive study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute as they have been selected by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). The purpose is to restart the provisions for the HOS rules to view their impact and make any recommended changes.

The FMCSA is conducting a study of the 34 hour restart rule by the order of Congress as they stipulated in a bill passed last December that rolled back the restart provisions. About 250 truckers are being sought out for the study and they will be split into two groups. One group will follow the restart rules as they are written now while the other will use the 2013 restart rules.

$4 million has been allocated to conduct the study to see which set of rules works better for truck drivers. Once the study has been completed, the results along with the approval of the Department of Transportation’s Office of the Inspector General and the Congress, will establish which set of restart rules will be put into effect for the foreseeable future.

Essentially, the effort will track and compare both sets of drivers in order to study fatigue and safety performance. One group will be able to take two nighttime rest periods during the 34 hour restart break while the other group will take less than that number during their respective restart break.

The drivers themselves will be recruited from all types of fleets and carriers ranging from small to medium to large in terms of their operations. Plus, they will be picked from regional, long-haul and short-haul groups as well in order to provide the best statistical analysis. Even the haul types will vary between flat-bed, dry-van and refrigerated tankers.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has conducted studies of this nature before, but this will be the largest one ever overseen by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute. They were selected for their knowledge and experience with these types of tests. Monitoring the drivers will be researchers who will track the time on the road and the resting or sleeping status of the drivers through onboard electronic devices that will require being logged in and out when the driver is on duty. The measurements taken will also take into account events that are critical to the safety of the driver as well.

An interesting part of the study is that the fatigue levels of the drivers will be monitored by high tech watches that the drivers will wear upon their wrists. This will allow for constant monitoring so that the most accurate measurements can be made. The point of the study will be to monitor driver fatigue because it remains arguably the biggest safety issues that drivers face. By better understanding driver fatigue, greater safety measures can be instituted.

The Hours of Service (HOS) study will take some time to monitor and complete the study, but the end result promises to either keep the new rules that were recently passed or revert back to the older 2013 rules that many of the drivers have operated under for that time period. 

Changes to 34 Hour Restart in the Hours of Service

Some parts of the Hours of Service have had a suspension of enforcement. You now can use a 34 hour restart more than once a week and the  two periods from 1:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m no longer apply.

 To read the official notice published by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) visit: HOS Fed Reg Notice Dec 17 2014.pdf

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION [4910-EX-P]

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

49 CFR Part 395

 Hours of Service of Drivers

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice.

 SUMMARY: FMCSA suspends enforcement of certain sections of the Agency’s Hours of Service (HOS) rules as required by the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015, enacted December 16, 2014. Specifically, FMCSA suspends the requirements regarding the restart of a driver’s 60- or 70-hour limit that drivers were required to comply with beginning July 1, 2013. The restart provisions have no force or effect from the date of enactment of the Appropriations Act through the period of suspension, and such provisions are replaced with the previous restart provisions in effect on June 30, 2013. FMCSA provides this notice to motor carriers, commercial drivers, State Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program grant recipients and other law enforcement personnel of these immediate enforcement changes.

DATES: The suspension of enforcement of § 395.3(c) and (d) is effective as of 12:01 a.m. on December 16, 2014. Updated: Wednesday, December 17, 2014

 For more information on the Hours of Service visit http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/regulations/hours-of-service