trucking laws

FMCSA Relaxes Vision Regulations for Monocular Truckers

February 18, 2022 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

New vision standards will relax previous requirements mandating that truckers with inadequate vision in one eye must seek an exemption from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

The agency announced the new rule late last month, which will now allow commercial drivers “who do not satisfy, with the worse eye, either the existing distant visual acuity standard with corrective lenses or the field of vision standard, or both, to be physically qualified to operate a commercial motor vehicle in interstate commerce under specific conditions.”

The updated regulation now “enhances employment opportunities while remaining consistent with FMCSA’s safety mission,” the agency added. The new rule will be fully implemented on March 22nd.

“With limited exceptions, individuals physically qualified under the alternative standard for the first time must satisfactorily complete a road test administered by the employing motor carrier before operating a CMV in interstate commerce,” said FMCSA in a federal register post. “This rule eliminates the need for the current federal vision exemption program, as well as the grandfather provision for drivers operating under the previously-administered vision waiver study program.”

The updated standard–which has been changed for the first time since 1998–will bring about a more “collaborative process” to allow a driver to obtain verification; a driver must have a complete optometrist- or ophthalmologist-conducted vision evaluation before he or she can become medically certified under the new standard. Additionally, the doctor must record the evaluation results and offer professional opinions regarding an agency Vision Evaluation Report. Currently, nearly 2,000 truck drivers hold vision exemptions under the previous standards.

The ophthalmologist or optometrist recording these report findings may then offer a driver up to 12 months of a certification period if the driver is found to meet FMCSA’s physical qualification standards and the new vision standard. The driver will need to be evaluated again each subsequent year for renewed qualification.

To make these determinations, examiners are required to take into account the entire Vision Evaluation Report and apply four particular standards using his or her own medical judgment. These standards include that the driver has a stable vision deficiency; has had enough time since the deficiency became stable to adapt to the vision changes; can recognize traffic signal and device colors and see the differences between red, green, and amber; and have a distant visual acuity of at least 20/40 in his or her stronger eye, with or without corrective lenses, as well as a field of vision that is of at least 70 degrees in the horizontal meridian.

FMCSA is seeking public comment on this final rule by February 22nd, and received 69 comments on the proposed rulemaking notice in 2021. These comments came from drivers, motor carriers, private citizens, healthcare providers, and trade associations. 45 of these comments showed support for the potential regulation change.

“Common reasons cited for supporting the proposal include the following: The evidence shows monocular drivers are safe and have no adverse impact on safety; the rule would remove barriers to entry, create job opportunities, encourage more individuals to enter the workforce, keep experienced drivers and reduce the driver shortage,” said the agency.

Should any safety concern arise from the new rule, FMCSA has claimed that its most prominent counter-argument is that monocular drivers have had no major issues in recent years.

“This could lead one to conclude drivers with monocular vision are as safe as other drivers,” the agency noted. “We remind readers that the data is either absent or conflicting regarding the safety of monocular drivers. With such a small percentage of drivers having monocular vision, this data will continue to be difficult to obtain in a statistically-significant manner.”

FMCSA’s medical review board approved the rule update last year, although it recommended that the policy’s field of vision standard require commercial drivers to have a field of vision of at least 120 degrees.

CDL Testing Processes Becoming Less Restricted in Effort to Ease Driver Shortage

February 16, 2022 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

A variety of actions are in the works to speed up the commercial driver licensing process by streamlining credentialing steps for new truckers.

Regulators have been updating guidelines as two bills are introduced in Congress; the Licensing Individual Commercial Exam-takers Efficiently (LICENSE) Act, for example, will allow state driver licensing agencies to utilize third-party test administrators to conduct both a CDL skills test and knowledge test. This comes as the act would make two Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration-issued waivers permanent.

Through this legislation, states would be able to conduct driver skills tests for any applicant, regardless of what state the driver is from or where the driver underwent training. Additionally, under the act, commercial learner’s permit holders who have already passed their CDL skills test but haven’t obtained credentials would be able to drive with a veteran trucker in the truck.

“With a shortage of roughly 80,000 drivers, we should be making the process of becoming a professional truck driver as user-friendly as possible,” said Chris Spear, President of American Trucking Associations. “By making common-sense changes to the CDL testing process and eliminating redundant background checks, we can cut red tape so these hard-working men and women can get on the road navigating our nation’s highways instead of navigating its bureaucracies.”

The act was first introduced into the House by Representatives Troy Balderson of Ohio, Henry Cuellar of Texas, Josh Harder of California, and Darin LaHood of Illinois. In the Senate, the act was introduced by Senators Mark Kelly of Arizona and Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming.

The LICENSE Act also aims to bring boosted support to regulatory FMCSA guidance revisions that will bring to light the regulations and guidelines that won’t hinder any third-party testing administrators from conducting CDL learner permit knowledge tests, as well.

The second bill introduced in Congress is the Transportation Security Administration Security Threat Assessment Application Modernization Act, which calls on TSA to make the application and renewal processes easier for those working toward multiple credentials at a time, as well as to lower overall fees for applicants. This act was introduced in the House by representatives John Katko of New York and Adam Smith of Washington.

The bills are a no-brainer to Commercial Vehicle Training Association president Bailey Wood, who noted that permitting third-party administrators to conduct knowledge tests would ultimately “allow states to address the driver testing backlog” and help ease the ongoing driver shortage. Although state licensing agencies can use third-party administrators for skills tests, only a couple of states currently allow for the usage of knowledge test results conducted by a third-party tester.

“According to my research and discussions with members, only Texas and Virginia permit third-party knowledge testing,” explained Wood. “Almost all states in some shape or form use third-party testing for skills tests, but skills testing is a completely different beast.”

Making the testing process as streamlined as possible should be everyone’s priority, Wood noted.

“We’re going to be encouraging states to adopt third-party knowledge test administration,” he said. “The new guidance allows one-stop shopping for students, letting them get knowledge and skills testing at the same location. Anything that expands the number of testing opportunities is a good thing.”

FMCSA has claimed, up until 2019, that third-party testing should only occur within the skills section of a CDL test, “unless an employee of the state who is authorized to supervise knowledge testing is present during the testing.” Now, FMCSA has announced in a Federal Register post that it has “reconsidered its earlier guidance” and come to the decision that none of its present guidelines block states from allowing third-party CDL knowledge tests.

This is due to the agency’s understanding that third-party testing may still be overseen by federal and state regulators to check for federal requirement compliance, and that test administrators may also need to undergo background checks, as third-party testing would allow any public and private entity to conduct a skills test on the respective state’s behalf.

ATA, Trucking Carriers Express Worry Over Pilot Program Reporting Requirements

February 15, 2022 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

A controversial apprenticeship program, gaining funding through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, will allow drivers under the age of 21 to drive commercial motor vehicles across state lines. Now, this program is bringing to light worries around motor carrier reporting requirements.

The pilot program will permit intrastate truck drivers between the ages of 18 and 21, along with their respective carriers, to enroll in a program requiring proper monitoring and training. In a series of comments filed with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the Truckload Carriers Association and American Trucking Associates explained their concerns that the outline data collection requirements within the program will hinder its productivity. These comments came in response to FMCSA’s Federal Register information collection request last month.

In this request, the agency predicted that the pilot program’s necessary data collection would take around 20 minutes for each response for every carrier, experienced driver, and apprentice application form; 15 minutes for each response for all safety benchmark certifications; 90 minutes every month for miscellaneous data submission; and 60 minutes every month per driver for all monthly safety and driving data.

Additionally, FMCSA has been urging the White House Office of Management and Budget to rapidly approve its requests, and the agency only allowed for five days of public commentary. It also noted that these extensive data submission requirements may prevent smaller carriers from wanting to be part of the pilot.

“The draft information collection request may create unnecessary administrative burdens and/or prevent or delay small- and medium-sized motor carriers from participating in the program, limiting the success of the program–potentially significantly,” said ATA in the comments it offered. “Every additional burden placed on motor carriers may reduce the number participating.”

Still, ATA is staying optimistic for the potential the program has to improve the ongoing and severe truck driver shortage.

“While we believe the data collection is too broad and a registered apprenticeship mandate may prevent broad participation, ATA and its members will promote the program and [look] forward to assisting FMCSA in supporting the program,” the group said.

Although the Drive Safe Coalition supports the pilot program itself, the group believes that additional data submission requirements should be limited each month to address “only those elements that are essential in evaluating the safety impact of the young drivers,” the coalition explained. “Allowing younger commercial drivers to operate across state lines and transport interstate freight if they meet heightened training and safety equipment requirements will provide a real opportunity to address current and future truck driver shortages.”

TCA agreed, noting that the large amounts of data that will be required will likely create unprecedented difficulty for a majority of carriers.

“We must note our concern with the monthly frequency of the reporting required of the carrier, as well as the vast amounts of data that must be supplied through these reports,” said TCA. “While the statutory language grants the Secretary of Transportation the flexibility to request data relating to the safety of apprentices aged 18 to 20 years operation in interstate commerce, we fear that the breadth of data outlined in the Information Collection Request will present an undue burden to carriers.”

There also seems to be a lack of understanding regarding the extent to which most of the nation’s carriers can comply with these methods of data monitoring, TCA added.

“In particular, the requirement to supply ‘safety event data (as recorded by all safety systems installed on vehicles, to include advanced driver assistance systems, automatic emergency braking systems, onboard monitoring systems and forward-facing and in-cab video systems),’ will be very difficult to satisfy,” TCA said, “particularly for smaller carriers that do not have an extensive staff to handle this reporting.”

Werner Enterprises Inc., a carrier out of Omaha, Nebraska, also expressed its worry that the likelihood that “voluminous” data collection requirements “without some limitations” may come to fruition, and noted that certain changes to these reporting requirements may “help to strengthen the impact of collected data.”

Illinois Cracks Down on Biometric Privacy Law Compliance, Worrying Carriers

February 14, 2022 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Trucking carriers and those who provide them with technology may end up in the midst of various federal and state class-action lawsuits regarding Illinois biometric privacy law compliance, legal experts are saying.

Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act, implemented in 2008, has been brought up in various recent cases–the law states that any business utilizing the collection, usage, and retention of biometric identifying data like iris scans, fingerprints, voice prints, facial geometry scans, or full hand scans must first inform employees of this intent and receive consent to do so. Additionally, the company must ensure and make clear that all records kept are entirely secure.

Overall liability in regards to this law is likely increasing quickly, and Illinois state trucking companies may be subject to more class action lawsuits in the coming months as a result, stated Scopelitis, Garvin, Light, Hanson & Feary in a recent public notice. These potential increases come after a December Illinois appellate court opinion expressed interest in boosting this liability.

Various Illinois Legislature members worked last year to try and relax some of the law’s severity, without much luck.

“Biometrics are unlike other unique identifiers that are used to access finances or other sensitive information,” said a bill summary released in the Illinois Legislature in 2021. “For example, social security numbers, when compromised, can be changed. Biometrics, however, are biologically unique to the individual, therefore, once compromised, the individual has no recourse, is at heightened risk for identity theft, and is likely to withdraw from biometric-facilitated transactions.”

Any violation of the law can allow an “aggrieved” individual to obtain liquidated damages totaling $1,000 for each negligent violation and $5,000 for any reckless violation. For a trucking company that has been scanning employees in various manners for a number of years, these damages can add up significantly.

“This is a really big issue right now in Illinois–not just for trucking, but across industries,” said firm partner Chip Andrewscavage. “BIPA has been dormant for a long time, but in the past few years, there have been literally hundreds–if not thousands–of cases filed. The risk is very high to go to trial, so we’ve been seeing a lot of class cases settled outside [of] court.”

Some trucking companies are beginning to panic, many state industry experts say.

“I am hearing from my members about this,” said Illinois Trucking Association executive director, Matt Hart. “I even had one member who reached out to me who literally told me this lawsuit will result in his filing for bankruptcy and moving his company out of Illinois.”

Hart also noted that the Illinois Chamber of Commerce has been working with trucking companies to avoid such large lawsuits, and he has been trying to help.

“While the intentions of the law were to protect privacy, trucking companies are becoming aware of it, but are attempting to adapt to it a little too late,” said Hart. “Now, they’re facing lawsuits because they did not gain consent from their employees.”

Trucking companies should begin working alongside their individual technology suppliers in regards to compliance of this law, although they should have already been doing so to begin with, noted Trucksafe Consulting president, Brandon Wiseman. Trucksafe Consulting, based in Greenfield, Indiana, is a truck regulatory compliance firm.

“Work with your vendor, and see what your vendor is doing about this,” Wiseman said, adding that the carrier and tech vendor should both have data stored properly within their own systems. “I think it’s certainly possible for motor carriers to get pulled into the litigation.”

Some carriers are frustrated, saying that they should not be punished if they had no knowledge of the legislation in place.

“I get the intent of the law,” said a Midwestern carrier’s president who wished to remain anonymous. “But we didn’t do anything wrong. We just didn’t know the law existed.”

Still, many Illinois carriers have been using handprint and fingerprint scanners or inward-facing cameras for a number of years now, and should be doing so as responsibly as possible, Wiseman added.

“The law does not prohibit carriers from collecting data,” he said. “It requires carriers to make it clear to their drivers what exactly [they’re] collecting, and get their consent to do so.”

Most Common Truck Violation in North America: Broken Lights

February 11, 2022 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

In national roadside truck inspections taking place throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico during 2021, the highest number of violations came from inoperable vehicle lamps, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s data found.

Out of 2021’s 243,159 roadside truck inspections, 11.75% of all violations were due to non-functioning vehicle lamps, totaling 344,225 violations regarding these required lighting fixtures. In the United States, specifically, out of 212,256 inspections, 300,433–or 11.78%–of all violations were for vehicle lamps. For Canada, 9.57% of violations were for the lamps, coming out to 3,269 violations out of 2,768 inspections; In Mexico, 11.72% of violations were for vehicle lamps, totaling 40,235 violations out of 27,963 inspections.

“It’s important to note–commercial motor vehicles coming in from Mexico are checked regularly as they cross the border and generally have better lighting compliance,” said Texas Department of Public Safety Press secretary, Ericka Miller.

Still, commercial trucks throughout North America had the highest numbers of non-compliant lighting fixtures throughout 2021.

“Obviously, lights are important,” said Roadside Inspection program director for the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, Kerri Wirachowsky. “They can go out at any time. Some lights are critical, such as brake lights and tail lights, and can cause a vehicle to be placed out of service. Some are not, like license plate lighting.”

FMCSA’s data showed that throughout the continent, inoperable headlamps, inoperable tail lamps, and inoperable brake lamps also comprised other top violations, with last years’ second-most-common violation being inoperable turn signal lights.

“As vehicles are traveling, parts wear,” noted public information officer for the Tennessee Highway Patrol, Lt. Bill Miller. “The rougher the roadways, the more the stress on the vehicle components.”

This issue is something state troopers check for daily, and truckers should know the importance of compliance.

“Lamps such as brake lamps, head lamps, and turn signals prevent crashes, especially at night,” said Miller. “Lighting provides visibility and assists in signaling the vehicle movements or driver intentions.”

Commercial trucks often deal with non-functioning truck lamps as their miles add up. Still, safety must remain a top priority.

“All lights are essential; for example, a side-marker lamp on a trailer can warn another vehicle that a trailer is next to them in the dark,” said Georgia Department of Public Safety Information Office official, Franka Young.

LED lighting is an additional factor that often brings about truck lamp violations, especially within recently-manufactured commercial vehicles, added Wirachowsky.

“For drivers doing their truck inspections, LED lights are their friends,” she said. “LEDs don’t all go out at the same time, unless a plug falls out, because they are clusters of diodes…I’m often asked, ‘How many diodes should be out before you fix them?’ I say, ‘As soon as you find any out, fix them and maintain the truck.’”

Typically, drivers will wait for groups of their LED lights to burn out instead of regularly replacing each of them as they stop working. Still, LEDs have a decade-long lifespan, and replacing LEDs on the go is easier than many think, noted Mack Trucks’ director of national accounts, Ray Hasting. Although LED lamps have more upfront costs than incandescent lighting, LED diodes last much longer, are more shock-resistant, use less voltage, and function at lower temperatures–making them a no-brainer for a majority of highway fleets.

The states with the most overall commercial truck and bus inspections throughout 2021 included California, with 282,453 inspections, Texas with 204,336, New York with 57,344, Maryland with 53,149, North Carolina with 48,568, and Florida with 40,872. Those with the lowest number of inspections were Hawaii, Alaska, Rhode Island, Vermont, and the District of Columbia.

Another reason truck lamp violations have been so shockingly high–finding non-functioning lamps is particularly easy for the inspector during his or her walk-around inspection, according to Wirachowsky.

Fatal Crash Prompts FMCSA to Shut Down Florida Carrier Due to Safety Negligence

February 2, 2022 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

A trucking carrier out of Florida must immediately stop all operations following a 2021 crash that killed two people and injured nine others, federal authorities say.

Professional Marine Hauler’s LLC, based in West Palm Beach, has been deemed an “imminent hazard” to the public by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, with the company’s leaders ordered to cease all operations–both interstate and intrastate–as of January 14th.

According to FMCSA, Professional Marine Hauler’s was involved in a severe crash on November 9th of last year in which, according to the agency’s prompt investigation, what transpired was an “egregious levels of non-compliance and a complete failure of the carrier and its owners to implement any aspect of a safety management plan.” A complete trailer brake system failure was the main cause of the deadline crash, FMCSA noted.

The investigation found an overall disregard for safety regulations following ongoing non-compliant behavior–patterns that were found among various other motor carriers operated by Professional Marine Hauler’s LLC’s leaders, Ariel Martinez and Claudia Angeligue Abreu. Some of these issues include failed new entrant safety audits and roadside inspection violations that were ignored, according to FMCSA.

The hazard out-of-service order for the carrier, as well as for its leaders, is effective immediately due to the company’s “complete and utter disregard for ensuring compliance with federal safety regulations [which] substantially increases the likelihood of serious injury or death for [its] drivers and the motoring public if [its] operations are not discontinued immediately,” explained FMCSA in its notice.

The lack of compliance and safety standards within the company have allowed for many of its vehicles that were previously placed out-of-service to continue operating within interstate commerce, the agency added. FMCSA’s order states that Abreu and Martinez have both demonstrated an overall disregard for driver qualifications, alcohol testing, controlled substance testing, hours-of-service regulations, commercial motor vehicle oversize and overweight limits, and, of course, vehicle maintenance.

These manners of ignoring important safety protocols are clearly life-threatening, and are much more common than many drivers think. It’s of the utmost importance that trucking companies bring onboard experienced and exceptionally safe truck drivers for the sake of everyone with whom they may share the road, noted Levinson and Stefani’s Ken Levinson.

“The way I see it, when a trucking company hires a driver, they have to hire commercial drivers with enough experience to complete a safe and thorough pre-trip inspection,” he explained. “It’s about making sure that drivers are reminded and held accountable in regards to accomplishing all the safety goals a company should have.”

Unfortunately, Levinson noted that his firm has indeed seen similar cases due to safety negligence.

“We see incidents here in Illinois regarding improper maintenance, where the consequences can be devastating,” he said. “We had a case with a commercial vehicle that wasn’t properly maintained–a wheel was carelessly installed and it dislodged on the highway, colliding with our client. It killed him–he left four children, one on the way. His daughter was never able to meet her father because of a vehicle that wasn’t properly maintained.”

Thoroughly inspecting a vehicle before taking it out onto American roadways is a no-brainer and an important requirement for all drivers–it cannot be ignored or done absentmindedly, Levinson added.

“One key task for drivers is a pre-trip inspection, and the kind of accident caused by Professional Marine Hauler’s should never happen,” he said. “It’s, of course, the responsibility of the owners of these trucks to make sure they’re properly maintained. It goes back to a whole safety culture that a company needs to keep intact, and it’s about pre-trip inspections and making sure all your equipment is properly maintained and safe to use. It’s inexcusable to let one driver out with unsafe equipment, especially if they hurt themselves or a member of the public.”