Regulations: Page 159

Electronic Logging Devices

Is the ELD mandate’s pre-2000 exemption simply delaying the inevitable?

At least one analyst says yes, within 24 months of the ELD mandate going into effect, “nearly everyone will need an ELD, whether they like it or not, purely from a market standpoint.” That’s not a universally held viewpoint, however.

December 12, 2016

11.8% — That’s the overall pre-2000-truck share of total operating Class 8s on the road today, according to RigDig Business Intelligence, a sister business of Overdrive. Such small numbers – and smaller non-ELD carriers’ control of more than half of the pre-2000 units – leads FTR Transportation Intelligence COO Jonathan Starks to conclude that the market for such vehicles “will be very sparse. If somebody has an old truck that is in that good of shape and they don’t like the ELD rule, they aren’t selling.” Small fleet owner David Morin suggests a lot of such equipment could be subpar, given many engine rebuilders “don’t know their a– from their elbow.” He did manage to find a good runner early in 2016, though, a story told in part at this link. “I’d rather buy a truck that is in a junkyard, blown up or whatever, and pull it out and rebuild it so I know what I’ve got,” something he believes may be happening a lot over the next year. “If I was younger and this mandate went through, that’s what I’d have been doing – I’d do it properly and would take pictures all the way through so that I could show, ‘Here’s living proof of what I’ve done to that truck'” when he went to re-sell, if he went to re-sell.

Hours of Service

34-hour restart’s future clearer than before, but uncertainty lingers

Lawmakers warded off a scenario in which the 34-hour restart would be removed as a tool for truckers to use to manage their weekly on-duty time. But the future of the regulations surrounding the 34-hour restart is still unsettled.

December 12, 2016

truckstop truck stop hours of service evening parking hos fuel island20071001_0002

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Hours of Service

Congress clears legislation to spell out future of 34-hour restart regs for truck operators

For the time being, truckers can continue to operate as they have since December 2014, meaning 34-hour restarts do not need to include two 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. periods and the 34-hour restart option can be used as often as truck operators like.

December 11, 2016

The legislation produces no immediate change in the current hours of service regulations.

Big carriers and owner-ops continue fight over speed limiter mandate as comment period closes

More on speed limiter rule comments: Big fleets who filed comments on the proposal rallied around a 65 mph nationwide limit for nearly all trucks on the highway. OOIDA and most trucker commenters, however, say the rule damages owner-operators’ ability to compete in the marketplace against larger carriers.

December 9, 2016

The difference between Facebook and regulatory comments

“People sure like to gripe on Facebook, … at the Counter of Knowledge, and anywhere another human being may listen, but when it comes time for them to actually be able to provide some recorded, sanctioned, discussions …”

December 9, 2016

difference-between-fmcsa-and-facebook-comments

Electronic Logging Devices

Older trucks holding value better since ELD announcement

Wholesale auction data over the past two years exhibit that 1995-1999 truck prices have declined at a slower rate than 2000-2004 trucks, particularly since announcement of the ELD mandate’s pre-2000 model year exemption.

December 9, 2016

topbid-auction-data-1995-99-v-2000-04

What ELDs might mean for owner-operator gross revenue in flatbed

With recent speculation that the “mother of all capacity shortages” may not materialize with ELDs, necessarily, one owner-operator’s experience making the transition a couple years back.

December 9, 2016

Chuck Shaffer hauls in a big red 2007 Volvo 780.

Speed limiters will hurt truckers’ bottom line and cause more accidents, operators argue in formal comments

Upwards of 4,500 comments were received by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration over the last three months on the agency’s proposed rule to mandate speed limiting devices on heavy trucks, and most trucker commenters railed against the rule and its potential effects on small business truckers.

December 8, 2016

The comment period for FMCSA’s and NHTSA’s proposed rule to mandate speed governors on heavy-duty trucks ended Dec. 7.

Electronic Logging Devices

Eyes on the prize: The market for pre-2000 trucks in light of ELD exemption

Pre-2000 model year trucks take on a new luster as a way out of the ELD mandate. Now might be the best time to beat an expected spike in prices.

December 8, 2016

eld-market-pre-2000-trucks-cover-art

New priorities for a new DOT secretary?: Take two

A bevy of reader voices raised in response to the question: “What would be your message to Trump’s incoming DOT leader?” Issues of regulation (the ELD mandate chief among them), parking/infrastructure and driver pay loomed largest.

December 7, 2016

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POLL: What should be priority No. 1 for a new DOT Secretary in the coming year?

What would you tell a new DOT secretary — indications are Trump will nominate former DOL Secretary Elaine Chao — to make the No. 1 priority in the coming year?

December 7, 2016

elaine-chao-official-dol-photo

Moving violations, speeding among top violations during Operation Safe Driver Week

Of the 20,648 total warnings and citations issued, 11,182 of them were to commercial vehicle drivers, including 6,078 warnings and 5,104 citations, mostly for speeding and other moving violations.

December 7, 2016

Moving violations and speeding were the top two violations with warnings and citations issued to commercial drivers during Operation Safe Driver Week.

FMCSA establishes training standards, curriculum for new truck operators

New training standards for entry-level truck operators have been finalized by the U.S. Department of Transportation and will become requirements on February 7, 2020. In addition to a required core classroom curriculum, the rule establishes a registry of FMCSA-approved trainers.

December 7, 2016

FMCSA requires entry-level, CDL-seeking drivers to be taught a core curriculum and to receive behind-the-wheel training. The rule does not affect CDL holders who receive their CDL before the February 7, 2020, compliance date.

‘Driver mode’ proposed by NHTSA to lock certain cell phone features while driving

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recently released a set of proposed guidelines to help cut down on distracted driving, including device pairing and asking cell phone manufacturers to develop a “driver mode” that blocks many of a phone’s functions.

December 6, 2016

NHTSA has proposed a set of recommendations to cut down on distracted driving, including a cell phone mode that blocks certain functions.

Minute to midnight: Clock running out for speed limiters’ first public comment

“It is obvious to me that the majority of [speed-limited] drivers use the speed limiter setting to determine their minimum driving speed,” not the maximum. –Owner-operator Gary Buchs in his comment to the speed-limiter rule proposal docket, which closes Dec. 7 at 11:59 p.m — late Wednesday night.

December 6, 2016

Shuster to chair House’s transportation committee in 2017-2018 Congress

The committee is responsible for legislation spanning all modes of transportation, tasked with both public policy related to transportation and the country’s transportation infrastructure. The committee is responsible for oversight of the Executive Branch’s Department of Transportation.

December 6, 2016

Rep. Bill Shuster

DOT calls for train operators to be screened for sleep apnea, FMCSA holding off

FMCSA and the Federal Railroad Administration worked together on a sleep apnea rulemaking earlier this year, but FRA is already making recommendations to have train operators screened for apnea during their DOT-required exams. FMCSA says it will not follow FRA’s lead — yet.

December 5, 2016

Sleep apnea recommendations have been made to railroad operators by the FRA, but FMCSA is standing by its previous position, despite a joint rulemaking between the agencies earlier this year.

Driver drug and alcohol test database to be required check for carriers by 2020

Set to publish Monday, a final rule establishing the Clearinghouse database will require carriers to search the database during the pre-employment process and for current employees — at least once a year in the latter case.

December 2, 2016

FMCSA’s reduction of the required random drug testing rate this year allowed its cost-benefit analysis included in the rule to show more dollars on the benefit side as the reduced rate lightened testing burdens on carriers, owner-operators and drivers. As it stands in the rule, the final Regulatory Impact Analysis “estimates the annual benefit … at $196 million and the annual cost at $154 million,” the agency notes in the rule.

Page 159 of 245

Four fleets represented by the pictures above will square off in the final round of the Small Fleet Championship for the title belt in their respective categories October 23, 2025, at the annual NASTC conference in Nashville, Tennessee.

Turnage, TFX, Oberman, Clifford Hay advance to Small Fleet Champ final round

Turnage & Sons LLC, Thomasville Furniture Xpress, Oberman Logistics and Clifford Hay Inc. -- all are mastering the fine arts of trucking-biz management in myriad ways. Two Small Fleet Champs among these finalists will walk away with the title belts at NASTC's annual conference Oct. 23 in Nashville.

Turnage & Sons strikes balance with 29-truck organic milk-haul fleet

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'Light it up': Restored '90s W9, million-mile Pete 389 keep milk-haul fleet rolling

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'Foreign driver capacity' hit incoming? Fleets watch, as owner-op income back on a slow rise

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FMCSA's GBATS session: Truckers' applause for Trump DOT moves not hard to find

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