Driver Vision Policy Updates Backed by FMCSA Medical Board

September 6, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

A new report has been released by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s medical review board regarding potentially stricter federal standards for commercial driver vision-related qualifications. However, these plans include methods of helping monocular drivers become qualified for vehicle operation much more quickly and easily.

FMCSA published a new proposed rule early this year amending regulations regarding drivers either not meeting field of vision standards, not meeting distant visual acuity standards, or both, in at least one eye. The amendment stated that these drivers could still be physically qualified to drive a commercial truck within interstate commerce.

For truckers not meeting either of these standards, FMCSA has decided to review potential qualification exemptions on a case-by-case basis.

“It is well-recognized in the literature that individuals with vision loss in one eye can and do develop compensatory viewing behavior to mitigate the vision loss,” said the agency at the time of the amendment.

A proposed plan to bring an end to the exemption process has now been approved by FMCSA’s review board; the potential alternative vision standard would bring about a process consisting of two steps to determine physical qualification and to eliminate a decades-long rule requiring monocular drivers to apply for exemption. Seeking this exemption can take months, and can result in drivers being kept off the road for that entire period of time.

Now, the process would require optometrist or ophthalmologist vision evaluations to be submitted along with their specific medical opinions and findings regarding a driver’s vision evaluation report form. Then, an examiner can offer a Medical Examiner’s Certificate to the driver who has been found to meet physical qualifications–a certificate that would be valid for up to one year.

“FMCSA estimates that the proposed rule would reduce barriers to entry for current and future commercial motor vehicle drivers,” said the agency in its initial announcement. “The 2,566 drivers holding vision exemptions would no longer have to apply for an exemption, and potential driver applicants who do not have three years of intrastate driving experience may meet the alternative vision standard and be able to operate a CMV in interstate commerce.”

The agency made a similar move in 2019 when it decided to eliminate the mandate requiring that diabetic drivers dependent on insulin would need to wait up to six months for a physical qualification exemption, and the changes brought about by the amended certification process for drivers with this kind of diabetes has been successful thus far.

Currently, a truck driver must have at least one eye with a distant visual acuity of at least 20/40 as well as an overall 70-degree field of vision, in addition to the ability to properly recognize all traffic signal and device colors. FMCSA’s medical review board has. suggested that this field of vision requirement be updated to instead require a 120-degree vision field, and that a driver should be allowed enough time to be able to adequately make up for or adapt to any reasonable vision deficiency.

As of now, there is not yet enough data to implement a particular waiting period for a driver with any given deficiency in his or her vision, according to the review board.

“We remind readers that the data is either absent or conflicting regarding the safety of monocular drivers,” said FMCSA in response to claims that monocular drivers have not shown any serious issues in regards to their capabilities to operate commercial motor vehicles. “With such a small percentage of drivers having monocular vision, this data will continue to be difficult to obtain in a statistically significant manner.”

The board also stated that whether or not a driver has been able to adequately compensate for a vision change or deficiency in a manner allowing him or her to then meet requirements should be up to an optometrist or an ophthalmologist to decide. The vision evaluation form should also not request severe non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy- or proliferative diabetic retinopathy-related information, as these are to be evaluated only under diabetes standards for insulin-treated drivers.

Illinois Transportation-Boosting Bill Signed by Pritzker

September 3, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

“Illinois is the transportation hub of North America,” said Omer Osman, Illinois Transportation Secretary. “With the distinction comes a huge responsibility that we are investing resources equitably, fairly, and in locations where they make the most sense and do the most good.”

To further stretch taxpayer dollars and to bring much-needed boosts to state transportation infrastructure, Illinois Governor Jay Pritzker has signed into law a new bill.

“Thanks to Governor Pritzker’s vision and the support of the General Assembly, we are making historic improvements in our transportation system with Rebuild Illinois,” Osman continued. “Now, we will have even more tools that will strengthen our project-selection process and make it more transparent.”

The Illinois Department of Transportation will need to implement a new transportation program through the new legislation as a way to increase Illinois’ transportation network capability and efficiency. Additionally, the agency will be required to establish a highway system asset management plan for the entire state, and will also need to develop a project selection process that is performance-based and will make the best use of taxpayer money to keep state infrastructure in top shape.

“As new construction projects pop up around the community, Illinois taxpayers deserve to know the decision behind those projects and the impact it will have on their daily commute, local economy, and overall safety,” explained bill sponsor, Senator Ram Villivalam of Chicago. “By implementing a transparent, equitable, and data-driven system, people can have the peace of mind that their tax dollars are going toward positive change for the area.”

At the top of next year, a multitude of factors will be considered during the project selection process by IDOT through its multi-year plan. These items include accessibility, congestion mitigation, economic development, environmental impact, overall safety, and traffic operation improvement–some of these factors may be considered more strongly than others depending on project details or location.

Additionally, the legislation notes that the department should request opinions and input from members of local communities and the general public, labor and business representatives, metropolitan planning groups, and transportation and transit experts.

IDOT will also be required to create an asset management plan that is need-based and that will work to boost and maintain capital transit facilities and associated infrastructure as efficiently as possible–a plan that will also need to be publicly accessible on the department’s website. This asset management plan will need to include details regarding state facilities, infrastructure, equipment, and state-supported vehicles.

“All plan and program development based on the project selection process described in this subsection shall include consideration of regional balance,” the bill explained.

Because of any given potential project’s ability to help challenges related to environmental impacts and to boost multimodal connections, the bill states that the project prioritization process is considered to be fully in the public interest. Therefore, there will no longer be any capacity projects added to the new, multi-year transportation plan–after April 1st, 2022–that fail to undergo evaluation through the newly-outlined selection process.

The Rebuild Illinois plan, implemented by Pritzker in 2019, has worked to bring support to a variety of transportation and infrastructure projects and further investment into the state’s transit, education, roads, bridges, state parks, clean water infrastructure, and historic sites. It has also brought further funding to local truck route project initiatives and local marine transportation systems.

“I’m proud that Illinois is a supply chain hub for the nation and this administration is committed to investing in our infrastructure to ensure we maintain that vital role,” said Pritzker. “Through the Rebuild Illinois Capital plan–the largest infrastructure investment in Illinois’ history–we’re fixing roads and bridges across the state [and] creating jobs and opportunities in our communities.”

To help fund Rebuild Illinois projects, state fuel tax rates initially doubled in 2019 and have continued to rise since then.

“This legislation will empower the hardworking team at IDOT to ensure those investments go as far as possible,” Pritzker continued. “And by establishing a performance-based selection process, the administration is doubling-down on our commitment to being responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars.”

Upcoming Regulation Updates Discussed by Trucking Industry Experts

September 1, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Motor carrier regulations are expected to see major changes regarding some of the more pressing issues within the industry that the Biden administration has prioritized–but with so many regulation updates in the works, it has been hard to tell when exactly we may see these shifts.

Legal experts discussed this topic at a recent conference hosted by Scopelitis, Garvin, Light, Hanson & Feary, P.C. This three-day Transportation Law Seminar took place on August 26th in Indianapolis, and many professionals throughout the trucking industry made sure to attend.

“If you look at the Unified Regulatory Agenda that the administration released in the spring–the official timeline for rule-making–it’s highly aspirational,” explained American Trucking Associations deputy general counsel, Richard Pianka, during one session of the conference. “Very rarely does anything happen on the timeline that the Unified Agenda suggests.”

For example, the Department of Transportation was expected to implement an updated oral fluid drug testing regulation by May of this year. This rule was one item that was highly-discussed during the conference and is one that has been focused upon by many federal trucking regulators, Pianka explained.

“We saw a pretty major development in 2019 when the Department of Health and Human Services updated the federal workplace drug testing program to include oral fluid drug testing,” he said.

For truck driver drug testing to regularly include oral fluid drug tests, the regulation already in place by the Department of Transportation would need to be changed to include the allowance of fluid testing in general, which, according to Pianka, may take place in the “not too distant future.” This kind of testing could be extremely helpful during accident-related drug tests, as oral fluid drug testing can only detect recent drug use in one’s system.

“Oral fluid drug testing is something we have been waiting on for a very long time, but has been moving at a very slow pace,” added Pianka.

Congress first brought into effect a mandate for a final federal rule regarding hair drug testing at the end of 2015–a mandate expected to be made final by early 2022. This kind of testing has been explained as an alternative to urinalysis drug testing; however, this potential final rule has received criticism by a variety of motor carriers.

This proposal, which has been deemed to be “highly problematic” by Pianka, would urge medical review officers to not solely utilize hair drug testing and to not immediately report findings showing a positive test result from a hair sample.

“What they do is run an alternative specimen, which would–right now–be urinalysis, and report the results of the alternative specimen,” Pianka explained, noting that this kind of testing would present more challenges than intended.

“What this creates is a false negative problem,” he continued. “This would make hair testing in the trucking industry pretty much useless.”

In addition to driver drug testing methods, industry experts at the conference discussed the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s ability to review the current hours-of-service regulations in place. This discussion comes as the Biden administration has been working to pass a bill requiring FMCSA to analyze the recent changes around this rule and the update’s overall effects on truck drivers and the industry itself.

“The fact that it was in the House bill is an indication that there is a constituency for revisiting the hours-of-service rules,” Pianka said. “It’s certainly a potential issue we’ll see on the horizon.”

Another regulation in the works could urge federal regulators to implement a new rule requiring all new commercial truck models to have automated emergency braking–a rule that would need to be issued within a two-year period.

“This has already been on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s agenda for some time,” said Pianka. “So, we think this has a good chance of becoming law.”

Fleets and independent truckers may see a rise in the minimum insurance requirement, as well, according to Pianka. Additionally, a proposal to remove the current requirement for drivers to immediately report road violations will likely see a final rule in the near future.

“They thought it was redundant that drivers report their motor vehicle records,” explained general counsel for American Trucking associations, Jennifer Hall. “So, you’ll be getting that information from your own queries.”

Screening criteria is also in the works by the National Transportation Safety Board for drivers required to be tested for obstructive sleep apnea, Hall added.

“We anticipate that this could be an issue that we will see coming forward for regulation,” she said.

Tips for Truckers to Stay Hydrated and Healthy During These Heat Waves

August 30, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Temperatures are high across the country, and even potentially dangerous for some truck drivers.

As truckers work to deliver goods throughout the nation, some areas are seeing temperatures as high as 100 degrees during the extreme heat waves taking place this year. Some truckers may not be able to acclimate their bodies to high humidity and temperatures quickly enough during these heat waves, which can be detrimental.

“There’s a fine line drivers must walk between moving freight within the allotted transit times and avoiding heat-related illness during heat waves,” explained Trinity Healthcare owner and medical director, Dr. John Abraham.

Trinity serves as Prime Inc. truckload carrier’s wellness provider, and Prime Inc. works to keep truckers as healthy and safe as possible by educating them on the importance of hydration and urging them to drink plenty of water while they’re on the road.

“When temperatures spike, the primary concern is about the amount of fluid and water that’s in the driver’s system,” said Abraham. “Heat exhaustion and dehydration can cause organ failure and can even lead to death if allowed to go too far.”

Additionally, drivers should focus on the heat index in the area in which they’re driving for a more accurate understanding of weather conditions, as the heat index considers humidity and temperature alike, Abraham added.

“The higher the heat index, the hotter the weather feels,” he said. “That’s because, with the higher humidity, the higher moisture content in the air doesn’t allow sweat to evaporate and cool the skin.”

According to Abraham, as a driver acclimates to hot temperatures, his or her body will become more tolerant and sweat around two to three more liters every hour to expel heat. If the body is unable to properly rid itself of excessive heat, the driver may experience heat exhaustion.

The key, of course, is to stay hydrated with water, as opposed to energy drinks that often contain high amounts of caffeine or sugar, added president of Rolling Strong, Stephen Kane. A hydrating beverage should provide the minerals a driver’s body might lose when sweating in high temperatures.

“Because once you start to become dehydrated, it’s really tough to get back [to being hydrated],” Kane noted.

One’s body temperature also rises quickly when metabolizing large or unhealthy meals, so truckers should do their best to avoid fast food and instead bring lighter meals on the road that are rich in vitamins and minerals. Additionally, sufficient rest is especially helpful for a driver’s body to be able to handle high heat levels, so Kane recommends that drivers understand how much sleep they need for their bodies to perform at their best while on the road.

Wellness and health programs dedicated to truck drivers, like Rolling Strong, have a lot of tips for drivers to stay hydrated and cool while working. Rolling Stone suggests drivers keep coolers in their cabs filled with water bottles and other health drinks, as well as with fruit, cucumber, or other healthy, hydrating snacks to munch on while they drive or take a break.

“Having been dehydrated when I served in the military…[I] had to be taken to the hospital and have an IV put in my arm and two liters of saline solution pumped into me because I got dehydrated,” said Sage Truck Driving School instructor and trucker, Scott Douglas. “I know from experience just how fast [dehydration] can hit you and how bad the results can be when it finally hits you,” he said.

Some signs of heat exhaustion or dehydration can include headaches, nausea, dry mouth, dizziness, or confusion, and drivers should immediately stop operating their vehicles when experiencing any of these symptoms and reach out to their dispatchers, Trinity Healthcare’s Abraham noted. Drivers who tend to drink caffeinated beverages like coffee or soda to stay awake and alert while on the road should counterbalance those drinks with their equivalent amount in water. This amount of water intake should also be in addition to the recommended intake of 90 ounces of water per day for women and 125 ounces of water per day for men.

With Autopilot Capabilities Ramping Up, Public Trust is Imperative

August 27, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Experts are claiming that the progress of safety innovations that come with new vehicle technology may be hindered by the public’s lack of trust or understanding regarding automated driving systems.

“Whether it’s Tesla or anyone else, it is incumbent on these manufacturers to be honest in what their technology does and does not do,” said chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board, Jennifer Homendy.

Homendy took over as chairwoman of the agency as Tesla Inc. faced backlash regarding its Autopilot capabilities following the opening of an investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on car crashes involving Autopilot-equipped vehicles.

Although Homendy noted that Tesla has been easy to work with during NTSB investigations, she did note that various TV advertisements for Autopilot-equipped Teslas do allude to the idea that these vehicles can brake and steer on their own, although drivers must still be alert and monitoring these systems at any given time while a vehicle is being operated.

Homendy added that some officials even said they themselves believed some of these Tesla models were self-operating during a recent state highway safety conference.

“I was stunned,” Homendy said of those comments. “No, we do not [have self-operating models].”

She also explained in her first address to NTSB staff as chairwoman that she would make it a priority to–within the next 100 days–rename NTSB’s Office of Aviation Safety for it to better reflect its role in analyzing incidents occurring within commercial space travel.

“We are doing a lot, but nobody knows it,” she explained of the Office’s responsibility in these investigations. “We need to demonstrate it to our partners–to our stakeholders–that we’re ready, because we are.”

Additionally, Homendy requested that agency staff complete a regulation draft regarding updated commercial space industry-governing requirements within 60 days. The NTSB has been analyzing and investigating commercial rocket- and space vehicle-related incidents for many years, although the need for these kinds of investigations isn’t especially common. One such analysis included that of the Virgin Galactic space plane’s destruction in 2014.

“I don’t want to be in a situation–God forbid–that something does happen and we don’t have adequate resources,” Homendy explained. “So, I do believe this is an area we do need to expand and include additional expertise.”

Investigation preparation has become vital across many sectors of air transportation, she added, as robotic flying devices and un-piloted drones are currently undergoing design efforts to become future air taxis, and other innovative new methods of aircraft transportation and recreation are also in the works–such as Jeff Bezos’ recent Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. and Blue Origin LLC ride into space, which Virgin has announced would be a joyride available to others for $450,000 per ticket.

Because of the future of this kind of travel, Homendy is aiming to boost NTSB staff and its capacity budget, as the funding-setting safety board authorization is due for renewal in 2021. The exact number of budget increase that will be requested isn’t yet known, though, she explained.

“The things that the public relies on–timely reports, great recommendations, what’s happened on an investigation [being released] as early as possible–that requires resources,” she added.

A much larger NTSB staff will be necessary for the fast-paced innovations of transportation technology and all that these changes will entail.

“We are in a time of transformational change,” said Homendy. “But, you know, I hear a lot about innovation and a lot about investment. I’m not learning a lot about safety–that’s where we come in. Safety has to be the driver. That’s our role.”

For this purpose, Homendy has requested that NTSB fill the current 50 open jobs within the agency, which makes up more than 12% of all current staff. Still, though, Homendy’s overarching goal is to bring important changes to overall safety within transportation, as she says there is a “very long list” of actions she plans to take in order to do so–including the vast improvement of driver assist system safety. She has made clear her intent to urge Congress to increase agency funding and to help the agency focus on incoming tech capabilities regarding everything from space flight to automated passenger vehicles.

“I think we have a great past,” she said of NTSB, “but I think we have to be future-looking.”

$3.5 Trillion Budget Could Bring Climate Change-Fighting Policies

August 26, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

“The House must pass the budget resolution immediately,” said House Speaker Nancy Policy to U.S. House of Representatives Democrats this month. “Doing so will maximize the leverage of our caucus in the budget process, allowing us to proceed first in crafting the [budget] reconciliation bill.”

Pelosi has been working to gain Democrat support regarding a $3.5 trillion budget plan to boost the agenda of the Biden Administration–an agenda including major topics like greenhouse gas reduction and social aid programs and policies. Pelosi also says she’s working toward connecting the budget reconciliation legislation with a previously-passed $1 trillion infrastructure bill.

House Democratic leaders are expected to start discussions of these budget plans with their committees ahead of scheduled voting.

“Our caucus remains united in realizing President Biden’s vision to build back better: creating more jobs, cutting taxes, and lowering health care costs for working families,” Pelosi added. “While the bipartisan [Senate] infrastructure bill offers important progress, it is not reflective of the totality of Democrats’ vision.”

The chamber’s transportation committee is likely to help advance policies within these budget plans as they pertain to severe-weather resilience infrastructure, noted top transportation policymaker of the House, Representative Peter DeFazio of Oregon.

“I have consistently advocated for increased federal investment in America’s infrastructure,” he said. “By investing in our infrastructure, we can create good-paying jobs, support American manufacturing, stop sending jobs to China, and strengthen the economy.”

Safer infrastructure and climate crisis-fighting policies will be DeFazio’s main focus, he added.

“I’m committed to continuing to fight for transformational funding and policies in the [budget] reconciliation process that will reduce carbon pollution from the transportation sector, support American manufacturing and ingenuity, and create infrastructure that is smarter, safer, and made to last,” he said.

Committees will now work to configure a $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation plan after the Senate offered partisan budget package approval; committees will be expected to develop their budget bill portion by mid-September, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer noted. This bill in particular is also sponsored by Bernie Sanders, Budget Committee Chairman.

“We will take on the existential threat of climate change by transforming our energy systems toward renewable energy and energy efficiency,” Sanders said. “With Democrats in control of the Senate, we will use reconciliation to benefit the working class.”

The reconciliation measure within the legislative packages presented by congressional committees will aim to require a simple majority for passage and avoid a Senate filibuster. The Senate’s budget assignment will require further investments in electric vehicle charging infrastructure, severe-weather infrastructure, environmental research programs, and emission technologies to be proposed by the panels which have jurisdiction over highways and freight affairs.

In fact, the Senate Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over trucking policy, will be urged to recommend investments of $83 billion in research, manufacturing, economic development, transportation technologies, and coastal infrastructure projects.

For fuel-efficient port construction, environmental justice projects, energy-efficient building construction, climate equity programs, and alternative energy vehicle investments, the Environment and Public Works Committee is also required to propose a $67 billion plan. The Environment and Public Works Committee has jurisdiction over surface transportation policy.

Significant Diesel Emissions Reduction Act funding has also received backing from the Environmental and Public Works panel, the leaders of which claim that this funding will be “a strong federal commitment to state and local air quality grant programs as a mechanism to assist state and local governments in implementing and complying with federal environmental requirements.”

These budget plans have received strong backing from the chairman of the Environment and Public Works panel, Senator Tom Carper of Delaware.

“We move forward with a budget that helps working families in Delaware and across the country, and we should pay for these investments with smart, common-sense policies that ensure that the wealthiest among us are paying their fair share,” he explained. “In the days ahead, we’ll need to get to work on legislation laid out in the budget that will tackle the climate crisis, create good-paying jobs, advance environmental justice, and build a better, brighter future for all Americans.”