trucking legislation

HOS Compliance, Road Safety Improving with Latest ELD Mandate

April 6, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

The federal electronic device mandate, which has officially been in effect for just over a year, required hours-of service data to be recorded with electronic logging devices instead of manual, paper logbooks. Recording drivers’ HOS data manually can lead to easier mistakes or falsifications.

The mandate has reduced overall hours-of-service violations and has helped motor carriers in multiple ways, but industry experts still say ELDs’ effect on roadway safety is still yet to be determined.

“I do feel the playing field is more equal now among all carriers as to everyone’s ability to properly handle loads,” said Cargo Transporters’ vice president of safety, Shawn Brown. “I think ELDs are making the roads safer. Drivers seem to be resting when they should, resulting in more refreshed drivers on the roads.”

Hours-of-service violations found by roadside inspection have decreased by over 50 percent since the original 2017 compliance date, according to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration spokesman, Duane DeBruyne. Nearly nine million roadside driver inspections have been conducted between December 2017 and October 2020, and less than 1.25% of those have shown drivers failing to use the mandated method for recording their hours-of-service.

The full effect of the ELD mandate was implemented in December of 2019, and the two-year exemption for older recording devices expired at that time.

Now, drivers can much more easily record proper and accurate records of duty statuses, said Omnitracs’ vice president of regulatory affairs, Michael Ahart.

“When using paper logs, it was much easier for drivers to make mistakes, but ELDs have reduced this risk and allowed drivers to better operate within the boundaries of the HOS regulations,” he explained.

Still, overall false log violations have been increasing, which Kerri Wirachowsky, director of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s roadside inspection program, believes is due to the misuse of personal conveyance or overall confusion regarding recent HOS regulation changes.

“The number one question I get from [the] industry is asking for clarification of personal conveyance,” she said. “In a lot of instances, they are misunderstanding what they can do with personal conveyance. I believe that has caused false [log numbers] to go up.”

When ELDs are used properly, though, their usage can help drivers avoid nearly 2,000 crashes each year, as well as save 26 lives and avoid 562 injuries annually, as estimated by FMCSA.

“While these are FMCSA estimates, our nearly two decades of experience support the idea that ELDs have a tangible, positive impact on the safety of our nation’s roadways,” said ELD provider Trimble Transportation’s vice president of product management, Glenn Williams.

Opponents of ELD implementation, however, believe that ELDs have not positively impacted roadway safety. J.J. Keller & Associates’ transport industry business adviser, Rick Malchow, noted that overall road injuries rose from 106,000 in 2010 to 176,000 in 2018.

“I don’t think that shares the entire story, because you don’t know the causality of those accidents,” he stated.

However, it may be far too early to determine ELD’s real effects on crash numbers, said Fred Fakkema, Zonar’s vice president of safety and compliance. Throughout the stay-at-home orders of the pandemic, traffic decreased significantly and many people began to speed, causing the number of overall roadway collisions to spike, he explained.

“The COVID aspect of it throws a wrench in the traffic collision and management aspect of it because there is less congestion than we’re used to, and we’ve seen an increase in speed in commercial vehicles and cars,” he continued.

Violations, though, have continued to decline, said Malchow.

“One of the largest decreases came from a reduction in form and manner violations. ELDs are pretty much logging it as you do it,” he said.

Many industry experts foresee safety metrics continuing to get better, as overall violations at roadside inspections have steadily declined. Driver violations dropped from 1,023,654 in 2018 to 784,188 in 2020.

“ELDs are making sure that companies are accountable and their drivers are operating legally,” said Garner Trucking’s chief operating officer, Tim Chrulski. “I think that is a giant success on its own, regardless of what the statistics show.”

Safety Advocates and Families of Truck Crash Victims Call on Biden to Reform Trucking Safety

April 5, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

“We’re hopeful that…Biden will be the one,” said Daphne Izer, who lost her teenaged son Jeffrey when he and three of his friends were struck by a Walmart truck in 1993 on the Maine Turnpike and killed. The truck driver had fallen asleep at the wheel of his tractor trailer.

Many family members of truck crash victims believe that they now, finally, have an advocate and an ally in the White House in President Biden, following many years of a lack of federal oversight in regards to these kinds of crashes and the deaths they cause.

A group of survivors and family members who, between them, have lost 28 people to roadway truck crashes, wrote a personalized letter to President Biden urging him to align with their common cause and requested more action from the White House in regards to trucking safety and in the prevention truck-related collisions on American roadways.

Biden lost his own wife and daughter in a deadly crash in 1972, and survived the incident himself. When the letter was announced, signatories mentioned his recent visit to the grave of Neilia, his first wife, and his daughter, Naomi, who both died in the tractor trailer collision. Biden’s two young sons were injured, but fortunately survived the crash.

The incident was investigated, but had no criminal charges filed against the truck driver.

Izer signed the letter, along with her husband, Steve, in collaboration with the Truck Safety Coalition, a group that works to boost efforts from the government in decreasing numbers of American truck crashes, injuries, and fatalities. According to recent numbers, more than 5,000 people died in large truck-related crashes in 2020, and that number has continued to rise over the last few years.

“The public is being massacred on the highways by big trucks, and it’s unnecessary,” said president emeritus of non-profit consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, Joan B. Claybrook. Claybrook is also the previous head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

In the letter, these families and safety advocates pushed for the federal requirement of speed limiters, automatic emergency braking becoming standard equipment on all new trucks, and stronger guards being installed for the prevention of smaller vehicles from sliding underneath large trucks in a collision. The European Union, as well as other areas around the globe, already require these kinds of safety regulations for new trucks, but the United States has yet to make such mandates, according to the letter.

“During the past four years, the U.S. The Department of Transportation has not advanced a single major safety regulation,” said the letter. “Instead, government officials have relentlessly attacked existing truck safety rules with efforts to increase the work hours of truckers and to allow teen truckers to operate in interstate commerce.”

The safety advocates urged Biden to choose new leaders without any corporate influence or industry ties who are able to provide leadership within the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the NHTSA.

“We cannot wait and allow another 20,000 truck crash deaths and 600,000 injuries in the next four years when solutions are already at hand,” the letter continued.

As of now, former Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg has appeared before senators in consideration for his nomination for transportation secretary as Biden’s pick. Once confirmed, one of Buttigieg’s deputies will be Massachusetts secretary of transportation, Stephanie Pollack. Pollack is also set to lead the Federal Highway Administration.

Biden has already named his NHTSA and FMCSA deputy administrators, but hasn’t chosen other top job candidates.

“We need somebody who wants to be a regulator,” said former president of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, Jackie Gillan. “What you need are standards and enforcement, and both of these are missing right now.”

In September, a study was released suggesting that safety features such as forward collision warnings and automatic emergency braking become commonplace in an effort to improve overall roadway safety. Auto insurers supporting the claim, and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety report noted that these safety features would be able to prevent at least 40 percent of rear-end crashes instigated by large trucks.

According to the research, these kinds of systems slowed vehicle speeds by more than 50 percent when these rear end crashes occurred, decreasing injuries and vehicle damage.

NHTSA granted a safety advocate petition requiring braking systems to be implemented into large trucks in 2015, but the agency has yet to move forward with this proposal.

Adding in automated safety features and calling out government neglect in regards to truck safety regulations are the keys to bettering American roadway safety, an idea made clear in Representative Seth Moulton’s recent National Transportation Safety Board report. The Report detailed a 2019 New Hampshire truck crash that killed seven motorcyclists and clearly showed the lack of government oversight in regards to truck safety conditions.

“Trucking companies that choose to break the law can do so without fearing consequences unless there’s a tragedy,” said Moulton.

Claybrook agreed, mentioning an investigative series by the Boston Globe that pointed out the loopholes and caveats within the government’s current trucking regulation system. The series found that one in five of American commercial trucks is in such poor condition that it would immediately be removed from service if properly investigated by safety inspectors.

“It brought to light what a lot of people just don’t know,” said Claybrook. “They don’t know [or] understand that they’re dealing with rolling time bombs on the highway.”

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?”

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.

Transportation Secretary Looks to Industry Partnerships For Progress Throughout 2021

February 16, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Stakeholders are to thank for helping regulators to continue progressing the trucking industry, said Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao. The industry as a whole has been leaning on innovative automated technology as a look ahead to the future of trucking, but the unprecedented challenges brought about by the coronavirus pandemic have made those forward-thinking mindsets tricky to keep steady.

During her time as Transportation Secretary, Chao said that the partnerships and collaborations she has been able to create and maintain have made her the most proud during her three years in the position.

These partnerships with the agency include those with technology experts, shipping groups, and state and local government officials who have all had their own guidance and knowledge to offer.

“We understand that they know what they’re doing and their government is not this all-knowing command and control entity,” said Chao, noting that making plans for COVID-19 vaccine transportation has been a huge collaborative effort between the agency and shipping groups, airline companies, and other government agencies.

“We want to be a problem-solver,” she stated.

Chao considers one of these problem-solving efforts to be that of the revised hours-of-service regulations, which were announced by Chao and former Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration acting Administrator Jim Mullen in May.

The revision came after the FMCSA reviewed around 8,000 public comments and made a decision to grant truckers more flexibility in regards to their on-duty driving time restrictions, sleeper berth and rest-time requirements, and adverse driving condition rules.

FMCSA also announced that it would extend hours-of-service regulation flexibility for truckers working to haul necessary supplies and goods to hospitals, stores, and individuals during the pandemic, as well as those transporting COVID-19 vaccines.

“We believe that the operators of commercial vehicles know the conditions under which they work, and that they know best what are common sense solutions,” explained Chao. “The federal government’s not in the cabin, on the roads. The truck drivers are. They know how difficult their job is. We know how difficult their jobs can be.”

Looking forward, automated vehicle technology is believed to bring major change and innovation to the trucking industry. Chao explained that the Department of Transportation needs to work on both innovative transportation systems and on boosting overall road safety and security.

DOT launched the Automated Vehicle Transparency and Engagement for Safe Testing Initiative–AV TEST–in June, in an effort to boost public knowledge in regards to upcoming automated vehicle tech.

AV TEST, according to Chao, will help increase transparency about the technology for those currently concerned and hesitant about it. She hopes it will work to both ease fears regarding new technology and soothe worries that AV may cost people their jobs.

“I also say to the innovators that they need to share their enthusiasm with the rest of the country, because there are people who are hesitant, anxious, [and] afraid of this new technology,” she said. “Consumer acceptance will be the constraint to growth.”

Chao is also working to help rural communities, with an allocation of federal resources divided evenly between rural and urban areas through specific grant programs. DOT has given around $300 billion in funding since January 2017, with $43.3 billion of that coming through 7,933 discretionary grants.

Rural area investments are vital, Chao explained, as rural Americans suffer disproportionately high road accident and death rates. More than 36,000 rural bridges are in poor condition, and 90% of load-posted bridges are located in rural regions, making detours in these areas especially difficult for trucks.

“I come from rural America, and I know that rural America does not want a handout,” said Chao. “They just want equity in the distribution of federal resources. It’s an issue of equity, as well as safety.”

DOT released an online tool in July for those interested in the Rural Opportunities to Use Transportation for Economic Success program, which is meant to bring equal opportunity to those interested in grant programs. The tool makes applicant requirements clear and organizes programs by project and applicant eligibility.

As Gas Tax Revenue Plummets Across the Country, Diesel Revenue Brought by Truckers Adds Some Stability

February 3, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

When states across the country implemented shelter-in-place mandates to try and curb the effects of the pandemic, traffic numbers throughout the nation’s roadways plummeted–except for those of truck drivers.

Truckers, who stepped up during 2020 to deliver our essential supplies, food, and medical resources, also helped keep state transportation department revenue with their regular diesel purchases.

Still, the drop in fuel tax revenue from non-commercial drivers was expected as fewer and fewer people were taking to the roads, according to the Institute on Taxation And Economic Policy’s research director, Carl Davis.

“Especially in the spring, it’s clear that driving just cratered,” said Davis. “Folks are paying a lot less in fuel taxes.”

States typically rely heavily on gasoline tax revenue, but the revenue generated by truckers’ purchases of diesel did help lessen the blow, even while more people than ever were staying home and not filling their tanks.

Unfortunately, the loss in revenue was heavy–$16 billion estimated to have been lost for state transportation departments throughout the year of 2020, according to The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.

“It’s been an incredibly hard time, these last five to six months, for state DOTs and transit agencies, because the revenue isn’t coming in the way that they had planned for it to come in at the beginning of the year,” said Jim Tymon, Executive Director of AASHTO.

Specifically, gas sales dropped to around 228.2 million gallons per day in the month April (as compared to April 2019’s 368.5 million gallons). Sales didn’t drop quite as significantly for ultra-low-sulfur diesel, which showed numbers of around 143.5 million gallons per day (as compared to April 2019’s 159.5 million gallons per day), according to data provided by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

EIA’s data also shows that April 2020’s gasoline sales were the lowest recorded since 1983–when the group first started collecting this kind of data.

“As we watch traffic patterns, the percentage decrease in trucks [is] significantly less than the percentage decrease in passenger vehicles over the course of COVID,” said Luke Reiner, Director of Wyoming DOT.

Indiana DOT’s spokesman said he saw this first hand, as both truck and passenger vehicle traffic numbers decreased heavily in the beginning of the pandemic, but truck traffic began to increase again much more quickly. Within 20 days, he said, truck traffic numbers had risen back to their typical level of around 27 million vehicle miles traveled daily.

Finally, truck traffic levels ended up becoming around 5% higher than normal numbers by early September 2020 in the state. This increase in Indiana’s monthly diesel revenue came out to around $1.5 million above the state’s normal revenue income.

However, while truck driver traffic has been on the incline, passenger vehicle traffic has not seen such improvement throughout Indiana. Non-commercial vehicle traffic dropped to around 55% below regular baseline levels of the average daily vehicle miles traveled per passenger vehicle, and was still down 8% from normal by September.

INDOT’s revenue for 2020 is estimated to have dropped by around 15%, according to Manning–a loss of about $145 million.

“It does seem to give some sort of indication that people are heavily reliant on trucks to move goods,” said Oregon DOT’s assistant director for revenue, finance, and compliance, Travis Brouwer. “Typically, we find that trucking activity is fairly cyclical of the economy. You would expect in a major downturn that we see today that people would be putting off major purchases. We just have not seen the economy translate into less trucking activity.”

According to Brouwer, Oregon saw driving levels that were down between 40 and 50% this year as compared to years prior. At the end of August, the state saw a 10% drop in driving levels from regular numbers, and a drop of 33% in the number of gallons of fuel sold in April 2020 as compared to previous years.

Additionally, according to Daniel Porter, ODOT’s chief economist, only 100.6 million gallons of taxable gasoline and diesel were sold throughout Oregon in April 2020, as compared to 149.8 million gallons sold in April of 2019. With Oregon Driver and Motor Vehicle Services offices closing for a number of months during the pandemic, the organization has seen an additional further drop in overall revenue.