FMCSA launches online hours of service example tool

Trucking news and briefs for Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020:

FMCSA’s ETHOS hours tool for drivers, carriers
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s new Educational Tool for Hours of Service (ETHOS) module allows owner-operators to input daily logs or series of logs to improve knowledge of the hours of service, including the changes that went into effect for their first full day yesterday. The page also contains prepopulated daily examples for the change to the 30-minute break allowing for use of the break in both off-duty and on-duty not-driving statuses tied to elapsed drive time (rather than duty time) and the new split sleeper flexibilities. Examples where a violation is present, and where no violation is present, are available for for both of the changes.

This example log (with violations) for the split-sleeper-berth rule shows an attempt to execute a split. Without a qualifying off-duty period of at least two hours, however, when the driver comes back on-duty at 2100 hours he/she has not taken enough off-duty/sleeper time to regain hours, resulting in an immediate violation of the 14-hour window limitation and, one hour later, the daily 11-hour drive-time maximum.

The tool, the agency said, can help “motor carriers and drivers better understand the HOS regulations” that went into effect yesterday.

Access Overdrive‘s own coverage of the hours rule, including a variety of examples/how-tos, via this link.

When drivers and carriers enter their duty statuses into the web-based log, ETHOS will identify potential violations of these rules:

• 11-hour daily driving limit (property) or 10-hour driving limit (passenger)
• 14-hour driving window (property) or 15-hour on-duty limit (passenger)
• 30-minute break (property)
• Sleeper berth provision

Violations of the 60/70-hour cumulative duty limitations are not covered by the program.

Trucker recognized for helping save driver from burning truck
Carroll Fulmer Logistics truck driver Robbin Peters has been named a Highway Angel by the Truckload Carriers Association for helping save a fellow trucker from a burning rig.

Robbin Peters

Peters was parked at the Petro truck stop on Hammond, Louisiana on April 8, 2019. He saw a fellow driver exit a truck nearby and head into the truck stop, and Peters assumed he was the only driver in the cab. A few minutes later, Peters noticed dark smoke coming from under the passenger side of the truck.

Leroy Kirk, a Petro employee, also recognized the smoke and came running out to assess the situation. He had not seen anyone from the truck go into the store, so he was under the assumption that someone was in the truck. Peters then grabbed his fire extinguisher and ran over to the truck, where he saw two-foot flames now rolling under the front portion of the cab on the passenger’s side.

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“I didn’t know at the time that there was still someone in the truck,” Peters said. “I was assuming it was just the one man that went inside. I began to start extinguishing the fire, and the Petro employee came running out and [started] knocking on the door. At this point I realized there was still someone inside.”

Peters said that by this point, there was a puddle that looked like lava, and a soccer ball-sized hole in the fuel tank.

“I didn’t know how much longer that tank would make it,” he said. “We had a row of trucks that were about to become the equivalent of a meteorite hitting earth. Because it was diesel, it didn’t explode. But if it would have been gas, I wouldn’t be having this conversation with you right now.”

Peters was able to extinguish the fire, and the Petro employee retrieved the other driver, who had been sleeping inside the truck.

For his willingness to help, TCA presented Peters with a certificate, patch, lapel pin and truck decals. Carroll Fulmer Logistics also received a certificate acknowledging their driver as a Highway Angel. EpicVue sponsors the TCA Highway Angel program.

I-15 ramp closures planned near Las Vegas Oct. 4-7
The Nevada Department of Transportation is upgrading the north and southbound I-15 ramps at Silverado Ranch Boulevard, St. Rose Parkway and Sloan Road near Las Vegas overnight Oct. 4-7.

Plans call for placing new lane markings resulting in the following intermittent closures:

• I-15 NB on- and off-ramps at St. Rose Parkway from 7 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 4, through 5 a.m. Monday, Oct. 5
• I-15 NB on- and off-ramps at Silverado Ranch Boulevard from 7 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 4, through 5 a.m. Monday, Oct. 5
• I-15 SB on- and off-ramps at Silverado Ranch Boulevard from 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 5, through 5 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 6
• I-15 SB on- and off-ramps at St. Rose Parkway from 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 5, through 5 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 6
• I-15 NB and SB off-ramp at Sloan Road from 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 6, through 5 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 7