Trucking Industry

Truck Rear Underride Guards May Be Added to Inspection Checklists

April 4, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Rear impact guards are now likely to be required on the list of annual inspections for motor carriers and roadside inspectors following the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s new proposed rule amendment.

The recent proposal was published in the Federal Register and could add the checking of truck rear underride guards to the overall commercial motor vehicle inspection process. As of right now, some Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance inspectors do not give a truck driver a citation if they find a damaged or loose rear guard, although motor carriers are still required to maintain their underride guards properly.

If the regulation change does indeed become a final rule, “then we obviously will inspect [underride guards] as well,” said CVSA executive director, Collin Mooney. “We’ll be taking a closer look at underride guards.”

What has happened up until now regarding underride guard inspections is that the decision to give a citation for a truck driver’s damaged underride guard has been up to the discretion of the inspectors themselves. “But you really don’t want rules to be subjective,” Mooney said. “You want them to be pretty black and white.”

FMCSA reassured that the adjusted requirement won’t have any major effects on the majority of motor carriers, as must trucks and trailers have been required to have underride guards installed–guards that are able withstand the impact of a crash and prevent a passenger vehicle from sliding underneath a truck–since 1952.

Regardless, in a federal government watchdog study conducted in 2019, analysts recommended to federal regulators that they make a serious effort to conduct better research regarding underride guard crashes and share more information in regards to underride accidents with police departments.

“Although reported underride crash fatalities represent a small percentage of total traffic fatalities, they present a greater risk of fatalities or serious injuries,” said the U.S. Government Accountability Office in its April 2019 report.

The study found that 5.4% of all truck involved crash fatalities each year between 2008 and 2017 were underride crashes–coming out to an average of 219 underride-involved crashes each year within that time period.

“While the [federal regulations] have required rear impact guards for more than 65 years, they are not included on the list of components in Appendix G that must be inspected during the annual CMV inspections,” said FMCSA in its proposal. “This means that a vehicle can pass an annual inspection with a missing or damaged rear impact guard.” All vehicle parts that require inspections are identified in the regulatory provision of Appendix G.

Throughout the year of 2017, inspectors within the North American Standard Inspection Program found more than 2,300 rear impact guard or rear end protection-related violations–more than half of these violations cited missing, damaged, or improperly constructed components, according to FMCSA’s Analysis and Information Online data.

The North American Standard Inspection Program inspects vehicles roadside to assess their rear impact guards and rear end protection.

According to FMCSA, rear-end collision fatalities and injuries can be significantly avoided if compliance is ensured by including rear impact guard and rear end protection in regular inspection requirements. The hope is that more attention will be brought to the major safety concern regarding underride guard safety and that vehicles will be checked at least once a year for this new requirement.

“Including rear impact guards and rear end protection in the periodic annual inspection standards will harmonize U.S. regulations with those in Canada and Mexico, which include rear impact guards and rear end protection as part of their annual inspection programs,” said FMCSA in its proposal.

The current lack of annual inspection for rear impact guards has a large effect on the safety of all drivers and negatively impacts FMCSA’s overarching goal to keep American roads safe, concluded GAO in its study.

“Without explicitly including the inspection of the rear guard in Appendix G, there is no assurance that rear guards in operation will be inspected at least annually to ensure they perform as designed to prevent or mitigate an underride crash,” it said.

Yard Move Guidance Changes Proposed by FMCSA

March 30, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

The methods with which truck drivers record yard moves within their hours of service may be changing due to proposed revised regulatory guidance released by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

Recently, in a Federal Register notice, FMCSA proposed that it would clarify when a trucker can record his or her time completing yard moves only as “on-duty, not driving.” In the notice, FMCSA gave specific examples of properties that qualify as yards, and noted that commercial motor vehicle movements that take place on these kinds of properties should be considered yard moves and only recorded by the driver as being part of his or her ‘on-duty, not driving’ time as opposed to his or her ‘driving’ time.

In 2015, the Agency released its final rule within its “Electronic Logging Devices and Hours of Service Supporting Documents,” in which it outlined its standards for the minimum performance and design of ELDs. It required manufacturers to have two specific driving categories, authorized personal use/”personal conveyance” and “yard moves.” FMCSA stated that these two categories could be used by drivers however the motor carrier sees fit and explained in its Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that the ‘yard move’ category was meant to record the time “where the CMV may be in motion by a driver is not necessarily in a ‘driving’ duty status.”

Still, a lot of clarification was needed regarding what exactly a ‘yard move’ entailed.

“Commenters generally viewed ‘yard moves’ as an on-duty, not driving activity occurring on private property,” said the agency in its notice. “The Agency declined to define the term ‘yard move’ in its final rule, noting that ‘yard moves’ related broadly to the HOS rules, not just to CMV operations using ELDs.”

All truck drivers who must record their hours of service are included in the new guidance by the agency.

“This guidance, if finalized, lacks the force and effect of law and is not meant to bind the public in any way,” the Federal Register notice continued. “This guidance document is intended only to provide clarity to the public regarding the agency’s interpretation of its existing regulations.”

There are four duty statuses for drivers to choose from when documenting their hours of service in cooperation with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations–sleeper berth, driving, off-duty, and on-duty, not driving. A trucker has to log their duty status times whether they use electronic logging devices or manual paper logs.

Properties that can qualify as yards under the new proposed guidance are: an intermodal yard or port facility; a shipper’s parking lot (that is privately-owned); the place of business for a motor carrier; and a public road if and while public access to the road is limited through specific traffic control tools. These include flaggers, lights, gates, and other control measures. If a trucker must access a public road to get to part of a private property, that travel can be considered a yard move only if public access is in fact limited during that movement.

According to the notice, properties that will not qualify as yards are public rest areas and public roads free of any traffic control measures.

The Federal Motor Carrier and Safety Administration requested comments from the public regarding this proposal, and said it will take into consideration the contents of these comments to device whether or not this new guidance needs any more clarification or explanation.

Additionally, FMCSA has specific questions for which it is requesting responses, including:

“Would defining ‘yard moves’ in the agency’s regulations provide necessary clarification and therefore benefit carriers and drivers?”
“Are there other properties or situations where drivers may be in a yard move status that should be included as examples in this guidance?”
“Would adding examples of yard moves be beneficial for this guidance? If so, please provide examples for consideration.”
“How should ‘yard’ be defined for the purposes of this guidance?”

A Look Toward Potential Struggles Continuing for Trucking in New Year

March 29, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Although 2020 has come to an end, the trucking industry must still battle pandemic-related obstacles while also overcoming the problems that needed solutions well before COVID-19 was a thought in anyone’s mind.

“What I fear is that, even when you get people inoculated, you’re still going to have the COVID hangover, so to speak,” sad Don Lefeve, President of the Commercial Vehicle Training Association. “You’re going to have not only CDL transactions, but just normal motor vehicle transactions that have largely been put off because of COVID. What’s that going to do to the DMV? In many states, that’s still going to lead to further backlogs.”

The first six months of the new year will likely look similar to 2020’s need for DMV appointments to curb overcrowding, Lefeve explained, also noting that social distancing mandates have left California DMV appointments booked solid from now until April.

Additionally, training schools have also seen restrictions and limitations due to the virus, making entering the industry as a new driver especially tricky. In fact, topping the American Transportation Research Institute’s Top Industry Issues list for the fourth year in a row–the ongoing driver shortage, which isn’t seeing much relief as testing, training, and licensing truck drivers has been more difficult than ever.

Luckily, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has given relief regarding some regulations with extensions specifically for commercial driver license learner permits and tests.

Another difficulty for incoming drivers was made clear by FMCSA’s Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse, which revealed that around 46,000 truckers received drug violations–most often for marijuana use. Of those 46,000, only 4,400 resumed working after finishing necessary treatment and follow-up testing.

The large number of drug violations is likely due to the legalization of marijuana in most of the country, explained manager of safety and occupational health policy for American Trucking Associations, Abigail Potter.

“I think it’s going to continue to be a challenge for employers,” she said. “With legalization efforts, there could be a movement for more and more employers to review their policies. If there continues to be a driver shortage issue, truckers are going to have to look at that–at least providing drivers a second chance where previously there has been a no-tolerance policy.”

The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act of 2019 is still currently in the U.S. House of Representatives in an effort to bring federal legalization, and the bill was not expected to advance within the Senate until the Senate was flipped to Democrats. Still, it will take some time before we see any change.

ATA will also be working on its fight against trucks-only tolls within Rhode Island, which discriminates against interstate commerce, according to the agency.

This battle is a “must-win case” said to ATA President Chris Spear. Rich Pianka, Deputy General Counsel for ATA, explained that the group has been preparing for a trial over the last several months and expects a trial date to come within the first half of 2021.

“We’re arguing everything in our power to get to trial as quickly as possible to prove our claims and get relief,” said Pianka. “Rhode Island, unsurprisingly, is doing everything it can to slow down the process.”

Although Connecticut also briefly considered a trucks-only tolls proposal only to quickly dismiss it, Darrin Roth, Vice President of Highway Policy for ATA, explained that it could be a recurring issue this year. Additionally, Rhode Island’s circumstance could consequently incite a proposal to increase fuel taxes in Connecticut instead.

For states grappling with revenue shortages from the pandemic, fuel tax boosts could be a viable solution. For instance, New Jersey implemented a gas tax increase of 9.3 cents per gallon to counteract fuel consumption decreases throughout the state. In Missouri, Senate President Dave Schatz filed proposals to bring in a 10-cent increase for motor fuel taxes.

Regardless of COVID-19, many states across the country could see major benefits from fuel tax increases, explained Tax Policy Center senior policy associate, Richard Auxier.

“You can put all of that aside, if you can, and there would still be a need for a lot of states to raise gas taxes because the problem of states having insufficient funds to pay for transportation has been a long-term issue,” he said. “All that other stuff will affect it, but that core problem is unchanged.”

End of Pandemic Predicted to Bring Gains To Trucking Industry

March 19, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

“So much depends on the vaccine and how fast it is distributed to the general population,” said Bob Costello, Chief Economist for American Trucking Associations, regarding how the industry will fare in the new year. “I think freight will remain decent in 2021. On the good side, the vaccine will help return to ‘normal,’ which means sectors that are currently hurting–like services and manufacturing–can bounce back, leading to more freight.”

After the country’s heavy reliance on truck drivers throughout 2020 in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, the industry as a whole is planning for a strong beginning in 2021 and expects fleets supporting the medical industry, final-mile delivery fleets, and homebuilding sectors to see steady gains throughout the year, especially those helping to transport COVID-19 vaccines.

Trucking and logistics companies participating in efforts to efficiently transport vaccines include some of the industry’s largest and most influential, such as UPS Inc., FedEx Corp., and DHL Supply Chain. Also helping with these efforts are smaller carriers like Boyle Transportation, which also works as a subcontractor for UPS specifically for distributing vaccines.

“There have been heroic efforts by the drug developers, the clinical trial participants, and the regulators to get this far, but the execution will rely in large part on blue-collar transportation and logistics professionals,” said Boyle Transportation’s president, Andrew Boyle.

The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement was also ratified in 2020 as the North American countries’ borders remained open to essential trucking traffic, even before the virus’ real effect on overall trade was fully understood. Throughout the pandemic, North American trade with Europe, Asia, and elsewhere has remained strong.

Within the United States, a surge of pay boosts in the latter half of the year was offered to truckers while their carriers dealt with high demands in volume and difficulties regarding capacity. The industry expects these pay increases to continue during the new year, as well.

“All indicators from drivers show that pay and compensation programs are their priority,” explained vice president of marketing and training at Conversion Interactive Agency, Priscilla Peters. “Drivers are not only interested in seeing improvements in their base or per-mile pay, they are also looking for carriers who are increasing ancillary pay for detention, tarp pay, fuel incentives, and more.”

Peters also noted that not only will these compensation program boosts continue on steadily, but that more and more fleets will see themselves competing for drivers in a market that is quickly becoming much tighter.

“We do expect this trend to continue well into [2021],” DHL transportation solutions senior director of carrier development, Tim Podvin, agreed. “Particularly if business levels continue to be as strong as projected in the transportation sector.”

Many carriers have been facing obstacles finding and retaining drivers to meet the industry demand increase, especially as the country partially reopened, Podvin noted. He also explained that driver shortage and compensation increases have become common and recurring discussions among many fleets.

“In the current hiring market, increasing driver pay is usually the most effective way for companies to attract new drivers,” said Professional Driver Agency director of operations, Scott Dismuke. “As more people raise pay, it will force others to do the same to remain competitive.”

Luckily, trucking rate boosts will make raising driver compensation much easier, Dismuke said, although he believes the changing economy will make or break the continuation of this trend.

“I do not expect it to continue past midyear 2021,” said Noel Perry, economist for Transport Futures, “[because it will be a] weaker market for freight.”

Additionally, trucking analysts say that truck sales, which saw an upward trend toward the tail end of 2020, will remain strong into 2021 thanks to freight volumes staying steady throughout the pandemic and the delivery needs that came with it.

“We like to say, ‘fleets buy trucks when they make money,’” said Kenny Vieth, Research President for ACT. “With carrier profitability surging into the end of 2020–and heading to record levels in 2021–demand for medium-duty and heavy-duty tractors and retailers has responded in kind with equipment orders surging since September.”

Truckers Help Honor Veterans for Wreaths Across America Day

March 18, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Truck drivers have collaborated with volunteers, military personnel, and cemetery employees across more than 2,500 cemeteries to make Wreaths Across America Day a success.

The annual event’s organizers ensure the nation’s fallen soldiers are honored with holiday wreaths in their final resting places. This year, adorning the graves of 1.7 million American veterans proved to be trickier than usual in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

Still, event attendance at these cemeteries was very limited and even nearly canceled in some areas due to efforts to control the spread of the virus; the event at the Arlington National Cemetery outside of Washington was even canceled in November but reinstated once Secretary of the Army, Ryan McCarthy, announced it could proceed in a safe way.

Thanks to America’s truckers, these events continued on to make sure veterans were properly honored in time for the holidays.

“It’s an honor to do this, a real honor,” said volunteer driver James David Walker, who transported wreaths from Maine’s pine tree farms to the Arlington cemetery through blizzard-like conditions on the southbound route through New York and New Jersey. “We’re just keeping the mission moving. A veteran sacrificed his life and liberty, and the best we can do is ‘remember, honor, and teach.’”

Walker, a driver out of Quincy, Illinois for Gully Transportation, had a strong motive for helping with the special event. Walker is not only a Navy veteran but honors his son, Marine Lance Corporal Jeffrey Walker, who died in Fallujah, Iraq in 2007. Jeffrey is now buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in Griffin, Georgia.

2020 was Walker’s fourth year as a volunteer driver for Wreaths Across America, and explained that he and other volunteers he knew were all determined to make sure the event ran smoothly regardless of pandemic-related limitations.

“The state troopers have been escorting us down, we had a briefing every morning, and they said we were doing a great job,” Walker said. “There’s a lot of patriotism–knowing what these veterans died for. During this pandemic, we won’t give up, just like they didn’t give up. It’s part of the healing process, and it helps other Gold Star Family members, and it helps veterans.”

Officials for Wreaths Across America have shown their gratitude for the help of truck drivers and other volunteers making the event possible. They also believe that the event will be back in full force–pandemic permitting–in 2021.

“The 2020 theme for Wreaths Across America has been ‘Be an American worth fighting for,’ and this year, I have been blessed to see my fair share [of those Americans]” said Karen Worcester, Executive Director for Wreaths Across America. “The determination of the American people and their commitment to the mission to ‘remember, honor, teach’ made it possible for us to move forward this year–safely. We are humbled and forever grateful for the outpouring of support from all across the country.”

At the wreath-laying events at Arlington and other cemeteries throughout the United States, Gold Star Families was able to participate virtually. At the cemetery in 2019, an estimated 70,000 volunteers participated.

“We have friends that we’ve made, and we can’t see them this year,” said Greg Madore, a volunteer for Wreaths Across America.

Lewiston, Maine Walmart Trucker Dave Mott volunteered as a driver for the fourth time in 2020, and said two of his sons have served as Army Rangers. Although the pandemic’s challenges made organizing the event more difficult this year, Mott notes that event officials, truckers, and volunteers worked together to do everything they could to make honoring veterans in this way as easy as could be in such a difficult year.

“Wreaths Across America has done a good job, building a place for the truckers with the trucker’s lounge,” he explained. “The truck drivers are a very important part of this effort. This year, it was a little different. We had fewer people in the trucker’s lounge, and it was difficult to get the trucks in and out and loaded. It was a challenge, but they did it, and it was a great job.”

For this event, volunteers laid wreaths at the Pentagon 9/11 Memorial in an effort to honor the 184 people who died inside the Pentagon and on American Airlines Flight 77 on September 11th, 2001. This gesture was especially moving to Mott.

“Everyone is here for the same reason; most of this is donated time and labor, effort and fuel,” he said. “It was a challenge this year, but these guys did a great job.”

Trucking Experts Answer Common HOS Questions in Midst of Regulation Changes

March 17, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration representatives are working to get all public questions answered regarding the newest hours-of-service regulations, which have now offically been in effect for a few months.

Throughout the coronavirus pandemic and the toll it took on the nation’s truck drivers, the Trump Administration worked to relax trucking regulations. During this time, an hours-of-service regulation flexibility proposal was implemented, allowing drivers to: extend their potential driving time by two hours during challenging driving conditions, divide their 10-hour mandatory rest times into 5-5 or 6-4 hour splits (giving them more control over their rest breaks and whether or not they are actually resting during that time), and lengthen their maximum on-duty time from a 12-hour period to a 14-hour period.

Because this final rule change has only been active for a short amount of time, FMCSA reps addressed public concerns during a virtual question-and-answer session in December. The final rule took effect at the end of September.

Among some of the topics given the most attention was that of efficient record-keeping, with emphasis on a motor carrier’s need to properly record a driver’s time in, time out, and exact number of hours worked each day. Joe DeLorenzo, FMCSA’s Director of Enforcement and Compliance, noted that these records need to be kept on file for at least six months.

In regards to short haul exceptions, the final regulation change made the exception available to particular drivers by not only lengthening their maximum on-duty periods, but also the distance limit a driver can operate from 100 total air miles to 150.

Drivers do not need to fill out a graph grid log or electronic logging device record–they are permitted to instead use a time record while operating under the new short haul exception.

“You do have to have some sort of account of your time,” DeLorenzo reiterated. “Managing that and thinking through that up front is pretty important.”

DeLorenzo made clear that if a driver travels farther than the allowed 150 air miles or cannot report back in time, or otherwise does not meet the exception, they must fill out a manual log for that day. If a driver has to complete eight or fewer log days within a month, that driver may use a paper log with a graph grid. On the other hand, a driver must use an electronic logging device if he or she has to complete a log more than eight days within the span of a month.

Additionally, DeLorenzo notes that drivers should record driving conditions for the day if they are challenging or adverse, and this record should be taken at the time of the obstacle–not at the end of the day, when the driver may have exceeded the hour limit.

“That will help you to establish, when anybody asks,” he said. “That’s always helpful when somebody questions your log down the road.”

Adverse driving conditions considered in this modification include snow, ice, fog, sleet, or other conditions in traffic or weather that are unexpected by a driver immediately before embarking on his or her operations for the day.

Trucker-involved road incidents will not qualify as an adverse driving condition for that particular trucker, and rush-hour traffic is also not included, explained FMCSA Driver and Carrier Operations Division transportation specialist, Rich Clemente.

“[Applicable circumstances] are unforeseen events, such as a highway that may get closed because of an accident,” he said.

The representatives also spoke about the new regulations in regards to sleeper berth rules–with exceptions now in place for the mandatory 30-minute rest break. Now, these breaks have boosted flexibility by requiring break only after every eight consecutive hours of driving. The break can be satisfied now by a driver using an “on-duty, not driving” status in lieu of an “off-duty” status. The break requirement can also be met by a driver using a “sleeper berth” status.

Clemente explained that the necessary 30 minutes must be consecutive and can consist of a combination of qualifying statuses during that period. Yard moves are not permitted on public roadways, but can count toward a 30-minute break requirement, as can roadside inspections. This time period can also consist of the time a driver fuels his or her truck or gets a snack or meal.

To continue helping carriers and drivers better understand the updated hours-of-service rules, FMCSA recently released an online tool: the Educational Tool for Hours of Service. This resource allows users to log their duty status and can show them what potential violations may have occurred.