Trucks World News

HOS RESTART RULES * USA: FMCSA's

* DC - FMCSA preparing notice about suspension of restart provision

(Photo: Backups in Jersey City after a truck jackknives) Washington,DC,USA -The Trucker News Services -15 Dec 2014: -- The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said late Monday that in anticipation of President Barack Obama signing the $1.1 billion spending bill the agency is preparing a Federal Register notice to officially announce the suspension of the current 34-hour restart provision... The bill includes language suspending the restart provision until Sept. 30, 2015, and orders the Department of Transportation ...Until at least that date, the 34-hour restart provision in place prior to July 1, 2013, when the current restart became effective, will be enforced... The pre-July 1, 2013, restart provision allows a driver to take as many restarts as he or she chooses during a work week and does not contain the requirement that a restart include two consecutive 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. time periods...

Labels: Driving Hours Rules, HOS

HOS * Australia

* Victoria amends counting time rules

Victoria,QLD,Australia -ATA Friday Facts -11 Nov 2011: -- The Victorian Government has amended its counting time rules to bring them into line with Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia... The four states now have a uniform approach to counting work and rest time for fatigue purposes, after a campaign by the ATA and its members... In June, Australia’s transport ministers agreed to adopt the Queensland and New South Wales approach to counting time. Under this approach, time must be counted forward:

* From the end of a relevant major rest break if one or more major rest breaks are relevant to the time period; or

* In any other case, from the end of a relevant period of rest time.

The Victorian amendments took effect on Tuesday 8 November, two days ahead of the South Australian amendments, which were officially made on 27 October but did not come into force until yesterday...

Labels: HOS

BILLS & DRAFTS * USA - Limiting tax authority of out-of-state truckers pursued on Capitol Hill

“Business Activity Tax Simplification Act of 2011”

Washington,DC,USA -Land Line Magazine, by Jami Jones -4 May 2011: -- More and more states, as well as cities, are cashing in on out-of-state truckers doing business in the area. That patchwork of tax laws is the target of a new bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. The “Business Activity Tax Simplification Act of 2011,” was introduced by Rep. Robert Goodlatte, R-VA, in the House on April 8. It addresses such taxes as corporate taxes, franchise taxes, income taxes and business activity taxes... The bill seeks to establish a national standard on these taxes so they can only apply to businesses located in a city or state... The bill would allow the taxes on businesses that are physically located in the state or local jurisdiction. That means businesses with employees, a building, etc. The bill seeks to prevent taxes on “transient business activity,” for example trucks picking up and delivering freight...

* USA - HOS : Safety advisory committee focuses on trucker detention time

Washington,DC,USA -Land Line Magazine, by David Tanner -4 May 2011: -- Time squandered at the shipping docks is an issue of trucker safety and hours-of-service compliance, according to a federally appointed committee that has taken up the issue of detention time... The Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee, is urging FMCSA to seek the authority to address the issue and hold shippers and others more accountable... When a trucker is needlessly detained at the docks without consideration or compensation for time spent, that trucker’s ability to comply with hours-of-service rules is compromised, committee members said...

* Obama Draft Plan Eyes VMT, Interstate Tolling

Washington,DC,USA -The Journal of Commerce Online, by John D. Boyd -May 5, 2011: -- Informal working document for highway bill also would set up a freight office at the DOT... The Obama administration has been floating draft language for surface transportation legislation that could lead to a tax on vehicle miles traveled, allow states to impose tolls on some existing interstate highways and set up an Office of Freight Policy inside the Department of Transportation... DOT officials will not confirm that the “Transportation Opportunities Act” is their work. But industry groups are taking it seriously as a first sign of what the administration is considering in detail, while committees in Congress prepare to write their own versions of a six-year surface transportation bill to replace programs that will expire in September... Washington sources say the document now getting attention was first distributed in March to a small group of transportation specialists. The administration sent out the draft for their comments to help shape a future plan, sources say, with the understanding they would not discuss it...

Labels: HOS, taxes policys, trucking industry news USA

DRIVERS' FATIGUE * Australia - NTI research: dramatic fall in fatigue crashes

National Transport Insurance (NTI) shows: The proportion of serious truck crashes caused by fatigue has fallen substantially

(Picture by Redward Frank/The Daily Telegraph: Crash scene...a car collided with a B-double semi-trailer on the mid north coast overnight)
Canberra,Australia -ATA's Friday Facts -15 April 2011: ... Its 2011 Major Accident Investigation Report analysed 323 truck accidents that occurred in 2009, building on previous NTI research covering accidents in 2003, 2005 and 2007... The report found that fatigue was a major factor in 10.1 per cent of the accidents, compared to 20.3 per cent in 2007. 81 per cent of the fatigue related crashes occurred on outbound journeys within 500 kilometres of the point of departure... The report found inappropriate speed for the conditions was the predominant cause of the crashes, accounting for 31.8 per cent of the accidents studied... Seven out of 10 of the accidents were single vehicle accidents. When another vehicle was involved, the truck driver was found negligent in 44 per cent of those crashes. In fatal accidents involving more than one vehicle, the third party driver was at fault in 82 per cent of the accidents... The report found B-doubles carried 46 per cent of freight but only accounted for 28.8 per cent of the accidents... (See Video from YouTube, by cfavic)

Labels: drivers' fatigue, HOS

Fatigue Reforms * Australia - ALTA: Onus on industry to get fatigue reforms passed

Canberra,Australia -Supply Chain, by Brad Gardner -April 6, 2011: -- The onus is on the trucking industry to convince the nation’s transport ministers to reform fatigue management laws, the Australian Livestock Transporters Association says... In an open letter to the National Transport Commission (NTC) thanking it for its proposal to amend inconsistent fatigue counting rules, ALTA President David Smith says industry must now take up the fight to gain uniformity... The NTC has issued a recommendation to bring Victoria and South Australia into line with NSW and Queensland’s time counting rules... The NTC’s recommendation is expected to be voted on when the Australian Transport Council (ATC) meets on May 20... He says the ALTA will urge transport ministers to implement the recommendations promptly and for the NTC to be responsible for any future changes to ensure national uniformity is retained... (Photo from 2.bp.blogspot, by Ellerg -Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa-: Australian Cattle Farm)

Labels: HOS, Hours Of Service

HOURS OF SERVICE * USA - ATA joins those predicting HOS drive time reduction

Arlington,VA,USA -The Trucker, by LYNDON FINNEY -12 Nov 2010: -- Add the American Trucking Associations to the list of industry stakeholders who are predicting a reduction in allowable daily driving hours when the proposed new Hours of Service rule is released... ATA joins those predicting HOS drive time reduction, launches website for response FMCSA two years ago when reviewing the current rule, said eliminating one hour of driving time would cost the industry $2.25 billion a year...

Labels: HOS

TRUCKING INDUSTRY * WORLDWIDE

* Australia - Truckie loses appeal

Dangenong,VIC,Australia -The Dandenong Leader -12 May 2010: -- A Dandenong trucking operator has failed to overturn Australia’s first conviction for loading breaches under new legislation introduced in 2008... The company had faced multiple charges relating to exceeding the mass limit on a loader under new legislation in the Road Safety Act... Former National Australia Employment director, Bruno Strangio, had also been convicted in Dandenong Magistrates’ Court of breaching the requirement for packing a vehicle after a truck was loaded 65 per cent beyond capacity... A truck driver, who did not want to be named, had notified VicRoads of the loading breaches after leaving the depot. “Drivers have been forced to drive overloaded trucks on impossible schedules for too long,” he told Leader from Queensland... He said a truck overloaded to 60 per cent would make it very hard to stop in normal traffic, let alone in an emergency... The National Australia Employment has been dissolved as a company since the Magistrates’ Court matter... (Photo from 2.bp.blogspot.com: Australian Power Truck)

* Russia - The Trucking Industry – Transit In Russia

Moscow,Russia -Changes That Help -14 May 2010: ... Services of cargo transportation in Russia are also more expensive than in other developed countries according to various reports in a half to two times, and fuel consumption – more than 30%. It is somewhat ironic because, as shown by a comparative analysis of cost structure of carriers in Russia and the EU as an example of a circular flight Russia – Germany, a kilometer from domestic carriers is almost one and a half times cheaper. And yet, according to the Association of International Road Carriers (AIH), the share of road transport services trade turnover of Russia is about 25%... A high proportion of risk when moving goods across the country hampers the development of international freight haulage on Russian transport corridors... Relentless statistics data on past accidents in Russia, malicious actions on transport shows that from year to year their number and the damage from them increase very much. At the same time their insurers are not thrilled to take the lead in transit: they prefer to take on cargo insurance from beginning to end. If the insurance company “leads” the consignment from the very beginning of the path, a situation may arise where it would have to be responsible for damage caused to the cargo before its “jurisdiction”... (Photo from englishrussia: Loaded on one Russia's roads)

Labels: HOS, overweight trucks, trucking industry news worldwide

HOS * Australia - Daley leads charge to 'tweak' fatigue laws

Work diary restrictions for trucking operators in NSW will be scrapped

Sydney,NSW,Australia -ATN, by Brad Gardner -8 April 2009: -- ... as the Rees Government moves to “tweak” fatigue management laws and have the changes introduced nationwide... Minister for Roads. Michael Daley, today announced he will abandon the local work diary rule, which requires truck drivers to use logbooks when working within 100km of their depot... Daley had originally granted a 12-month exemption but decided to extend it permanently following a meeting with the Road Freight Advisory Council in Sydney this week... But in a further sign Daley is still not content with the current regime, he has tasked the NSW Centre for Road Safety to work with the trucking industry and fatigue experts to implement sector-specific improvements... The changes will come into effect once the 12-month exemption ends in September... The changes have received broad industry support, as the Road Freight Advisory Council is made up of the Transport Workers’ Union, the LBCA, the NSW Farmers’ Association, the NRMA, trucking operator Ron Finemore and Country Labor... (Picture from big-lorry-blog: Lusty australian b double)

Labels: HOS, Hours Of Service

HOURS OF SERVICE * New Zealand - Behind the wheel for 25 hours without a break

A driver who drove a 45 tonne truck for 25 hours without a break has been disqualified for 15 months and fined $15,000

Auckland,New Zealand -The police magazine Ten One/Stuff.co.nz -22 July 2008: -- Driver Peter Leslie McRae, 45, from Wakefield, near Nelson, held a log book for each of the two companies he worked for to hide his punishing schedule, reported the police magazine Ten One... McRae was behind the wheel for up to 25 hours at a time without rest and posed a great danger to himself and other road users, said the magazine... McRae faced 36 log book charges in the Nelson District Court when Judge Tony Zohrab said the offending was "as bad as it gets"... Mr Johnston said McRae had a regular job driving logging trucks around Nelson, starting early and finishing at 4pm... On Friday he would start a second job driving long-haul trucks to Christchurch and back using a second log book... He said both companies McRae worked for had systems to manage driving hours but had no way of knowing a driver was working for two employers... He said people in the transport industry were shocked when they learnt of the hours involved...

Labels: HOS

HOS * USA - FMCSA retains key HoS provisions

Arlington,VA,USA -Truck News, by Adam Ledlow -12 Dec 2007: -- The American Trucking Associations (ATA) has welcomed the Interim Final Rule on drivers' Hours-of-Service, which was issued today by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)... The rule retains the key components of the 2004 rule, which ATA has supported. Components of the rule include:
* Increasing from eight to 10 hours the minimum amount of time that drivers must be off-duty between shifts, providing a greater opportunity for seven to eight hours of sleep;
* Reducing the maximum daily on-duty time by one hour from 15 to 14 and eliminating the provision allowing this time be "tolled" by breaks;
* Providing a maximum 11-hour driving time per shift to complete runs safely;
* Promoting schedules nearer to a 24-hour circadian cycle; and
* Allowing for a minimum of 34 consecutive off-duty hours of rest, recovery and restart to eliminate potential sleep debt.

* OOIDA supports FMCSA's interim HoS rules
Washington,DC,USA -Truck News/Land Line Magazine -12 Dec 2007: -- The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) has expressed support of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announcement that it is planning to retain key provisions of the US HoS rules...

Labels: HOS

Limits on Long-Haul Drivers' Hours * USA - Court Delays Implementing 10-Hour, Until Dec. 27

Wahington,DC,USA -AP/Canadian Business, by Dan Caterinicchia -Oct 1, 2007: -- A federal court has delayed until Dec. 27 a requirement that would reduce by one hour the time truckers can drive continuously... The court ordered the 90-day stay on Friday... Last month government regulators and the trucking industry's trade group requested the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issue longer stays of its decision that the daily driving limit be cut to 10 hours for long-haul truckers...

Labels: HOS

HOS * USA - Few Kansas rest sites

This state and others need more parking places for big rigs so truck drivers can rest when mandated by law, the drivers say

Salina,KS,USA -Associated Press/Kansas.com -25 Sept 2007: -- Truckers who are required by federal law to take rest breaks say they often have a hard time finding places to pull over in Kansas... Truck stop parking lots and roadside rest areas are often filled with idling 18-wheelers, especially in the evenings. That's a problem for truckers, who are required to pull over after 11 hours of driving and rest for 10 hours... Efforts are under way to address the parking problem. Congress has authorized increased funding to help states and communities to build more truck parking, and some states are testing technology to guide drivers to available parking places... (Photo by JoeinVegas/joeinvegas.blogspot)

Labels: HOS

HOS * USA - Iowa issues waiver for fuel haulers

Until Aug. 11, the affected drivers are excused from the normal hours-of-service rules

IO,USA -The Associated Press/Land Line Magazine -July 20, 2007: -- ... Gov. Chet Culver said heavy demand for fuel and refinery outages – including one in Coffeyville, KS – made bending the rules necessary... This week, North Dakota’s governor extended until July 28 a waiver that lets fuel tanker truck drivers ignore the hours-of-service rules...

Labels: HOS

Hours Of Service * USA - Plains states waive trucking rules

Minnesota and South Dakota have waived hours-of-service restrictions for fuel haulers, while Kansas has waived restrictions because of flooding

USA -eTrucker, by Jill Dunn -10 July 2007: - Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota signed an emergency executive order June 29 to ease distribution of gasoline and diesel. Minnesota’s waiver is good until July 19... South Dakota Gov. John Hoeven imposed a similar waiver June 29 that ended July 7. Hoeven said a slowdown at a Minnesota refinery and increased fuel demand for the July 4 holiday had hurt the fuel supply... Because of severe and constant weather, including flooding, Kansas' Gov. Kathleen Sebelius imposed a 30-day waiver of hours-of-service restrictions for truckers delivering emergency supplies...

Labels: HOS

* Canada - Additional provinces come under HOS tent

Victoria,BC,CAN -Today's Trucking -5 Mar 2007: -- Four more provinces -- B.C., Manitoba, Quebec, and New Brunswick -- have implemented hours-of-service rules for intra-provincial truckers... The rules, which mirror the federal regulation that kicked-in January 1, came into effect last week (March 1) for carriers who operate only in those provinces... However, both provincial and federally regulated carriers are operating under an "educational enforcement" period until June 30... Only a few provinces -- including Ontario, PEI, and Newfoundland -- enshrined provincial versions of the federal regulation on Jan. 1...

Labels: HOS

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Dec 17, 2014

HOS RESTART RULES * USA: FMCSA's

Nov 14, 2011

HOS * Australia

May 6, 2011

BILLS & DRAFTS * USA - Limiting tax authority of out-of-state truckers pursued on Capitol Hill

Apr 15, 2011

DRIVERS' FATIGUE * Australia - NTI research: dramatic fall in fatigue crashes

Apr 7, 2011

Fatigue Reforms * Australia - ALTA: Onus on industry to get fatigue reforms passed

Dec 2, 2010

HOURS OF SERVICE * USA - ATA joins those predicting HOS drive time reduction

May 12, 2010

TRUCKING INDUSTRY * WORLDWIDE

Apr 8, 2009

HOS * Australia - Daley leads charge to 'tweak' fatigue laws

Jul 21, 2008

HOURS OF SERVICE * New Zealand - Behind the wheel for 25 hours without a break

Dec 12, 2007

HOS * USA - FMCSA retains key HoS provisions

Oct 1, 2007

Limits on Long-Haul Drivers' Hours * USA - Court Delays Implementing 10-Hour, Until Dec. 27

Sep 26, 2007

HOS * USA - Few Kansas rest sites

Jul 24, 2007

HOS * USA - Iowa issues waiver for fuel haulers

Jul 10, 2007

Hours Of Service * USA - Plains states waive trucking rules

Mar 6, 2007

* Canada - Additional provinces come under HOS tent