The American Transportation Research Institute’s board of directors has approved the committee’s list of research priorities for 2018. The ATRI — a member of the American Trucking Associations Federation — has been conducting transportation studies and operational tests since 1954.
The Institute’s Research Advisory Committee narrowed down their priorities list in March, and the organization’s board of directors gave the list their approval in the first week of April.
While the ELD rule plays a huge role in upholding and maintaining the safety of drivers in the trucking industry, the ATRI expressed the need…
According to the ongoing CarrierLists survey, the ELD compliance rate has hit 97% soon after full enforcement began on April 1, 2018. The ELD compliance rate has been since stable at 97%.
The survey also revealed that the three-week moving average has reached 93%.
Kevin Hill, CarrierLists’ Founder and President, believes that the sudden spike in electronic logging device compliance rates can mainly be attributed to small fleets recognizing the detrimental effects of noncompliance after April 1.
Hill told Trucker.com, “From this point forward, all drivers not using ELD devices…
Starting from April 9, certain fuel truck drivers need not take the federally required 30-minute break if their shift goes beyond 12 hours. The exemption from hours-of-service regulations was announced by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration last week.
The FMCSA said fuel tanker drivers go on break many times during the day when unloading at service stations and that those breaks meet the 30-minute break requirement.
The FMCSA, however, reminded that drivers of trucks hauling petroleum-based fuels operating under the 100-mile short-haul exemption must complete their workday within the 14-hour on-duty window and keep a record of…
A recent driver compensation study showed that since 2013, the median salary paid to a driver on an irregular national route has gone up by $7,000 yearly. It means that driver salaries have risen by 15 percent from 2013.
The study conducted by the American Trucking Associations (ATA) pegged the driver pay average at $53,000. It’s been over four years since the last research was done by the ATA.
The research likewise showed that private fleet drivers are now receiving an average of $86,000 — instead of $73,000.
“This latest survey,…
Following the “unauthorized access” of the NRCME website, which is used by truck drivers to search for certified medical examiners, the FMCSA has confirmed that no private info on drivers was exposed.
However, the full registry still remains offline, and the FMCSA has no timeline right now when the website will be back up again.
Despite the registry being “currently under construction,” however, site visitors can still do a zip code search or look up a Medical Examiner’s National Registry Number.
Drivers use the registry to search for a DOT-certified medical examiner when…
April 1 has finally come and gone, putting a full stop to ‘soft enforcement’.
The CVSA didn’t enforce the out-of-service criteria (OOS) between December 18, 2017, and April 1, 2018. Similarly, ELD violations didn’t affect CSA scores. However, now that the soft enforcement period is up, ELD violations will lead to stiff penalties.
To catch you up, we highlight in this post eight important things that you need to know about full enforcement and what happens in case of ELD violations.
If a non-exempt driver does not have an ELD, he will…
U.S. Rep. Brian Babin has introduced a new bill to ‘modernize’ hours-of-service rules and make current HOS rules more flexible for commercial drivers.
The new bill, which is named as The Responsible and Effective Standards for Truckers (REST) Act was proposed at the House of Representatives last week.
According to the proposal, drivers can take one rest break for up to three consecutive hours. This break will not be counted against their 14-hour on-duty time. Moreover, the bill would also eliminate the 30-minute rest break requirement for drivers.
“The REST Act would allow drivers to take one rest break…
Officials of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) met with truck drivers and representatives of the trucking industry last week to clear up confusion over the ELD mandate.
The meeting occurred during the yearly Mid-America Trucking Show (MATS) at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville.
The FMCSA officials who attended the world’s largest annual heavy-duty trucking industry event were led by Joe DeLorenzo, director of the office of enforcement and compliance, who took the opportunity to address confusions over portions of the electronic logging device rule.
Here are some of the things that Joe DeLorenzo…
The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) has announced that the International Roadcheck 2018 will take place from June 5 to June 7.
The CVSA’s International Roadcheck is a 72-hour annual event, in which safety inspectors conduct plenty of roadside inspections across North America. The CVSA claims that during the three-day event, on average, 15 vehicles are inspected every minute.
During the 72-hour inspection event, inspectors usually carry out level 1 inspections. A level 1 inspection is a 37-step procedure that includes a thorough examination of the driver as well as the vehicle.
A Level-1 inspection…
A $1.3 trillion spending bill has extended the ELD mandate exemption for livestock haulers until September 30, 2018. Both chambers of the Congress passed the bill, and President Donald Trump has signed the bill into law.
According to the bill, livestock haulers are exempt from complying with the ELD mandate until the fiscal year ends — September 30, 2018.
Keep in mind that this exemption is only for livestock haulers. Ag haulers will comply with the last month’s ruling by the FMCSA that allowed a 3-month ELD exemption to agriculture and livestock haulers.
Allison Cooke, who…