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Oct 28, 2015

HIGHWAY SAFETY & EFFICIENCY * USA - New long term Highway Bill: Twin 33s not included

* DC: "The next step: A funding component as soon as possible”

 -- American Trucking Associations (ATA) President and CEO Bill Graves late last week praised the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee for passing a long-term highway bill and urged House leaders to take the next step quickly... “This week’s actions of the Committee were a positive step for trucking and for the country. While we’re anxious to see the funding portion of the bill, the roadmap laid out by this legislation is a good one for highway safety and efficiency" ... “We’re pleased the committee’s bill clamps down on the expansion of tolling and establishes a dedicated freight fund — two positive steps not just for trucking, but for consumers, shippers and the economy" ... “In addition, the safety reforms — from making necessary changes to the CSA safety monitoring system to allowing hair testing as part of the DOT testing program, and limited interstate access to younger commercial drivers — included in this bill are also important steps forward for our industry" ... “Now, we urge leaders in the House to take the next step and bring this long-term bill, with a funding component, to the floor as soon as possible” ... 
Washington, DC, USA - Trucking News - 26 Oct 2015

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Jul 14, 2015

Teen truckers? * USA: Bill would lower interstate truck driver age to 18

* DC - Young as 18 to get behind the wheel of big rigs on the nation's interstates ?

-- Parents may hesitate to hand teens the keys to the family car, but Congress is proposing to allow drivers as young as 18 to get behind the wheel of big rigs on the nation's interstates... Federal regulations currently require drivers be at least 21 before they can drive commercial trucks across state lines, but a bill introduced this week by Republican senators would allow contiguous states that join together in "compacts" to drop the age threshold to 18 for interstate trips. There is no limit on the number of states that could join the compacts... After four years, the Transportation secretary is supposed to report to Congress on whether teens have "an equivalent level of safety" in comparison with older truckers... In 2013, all drivers ages 18-20 had a fatal crash involvement rate, per 100,000 licensed drivers, that was 66 percent higher than drivers who were age 21 years or older, according to the Transportation Department's Fatality Analysis Reporting System, although the total number of crash deaths among teens has been declining since 2002... The change was sought by the American Trucking Associations to help address a shortage of truck drivers... 
 (Photo: A young trucker on work)  --  Washington, DC, USA - Associated Press/US News, by JOAN LOWY - July 10, 2015

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BILL * USA: To limit truck speed

* DC - So, it'll ease work pressure on truckers


-- Truckers would have to carry more insurance and be paid by hours worked rather than miles traveled under legislation introduced Friday by U.S. Sen. Cory Booker... The Truck Safety Act also would require the government to develop new rules requiring commercial vehicles to have systems to help avoid collisions and to limit their speeds... The American Trucking Associations, the trade group for the trucking industry, applauded some elements of the legislation and objected to others... 
Washington, DC, USA - NJ.com by Jonathan D. Salant - July 10, 2015

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Apr 19, 2015

TRUCKING BILL * USA: New Jersey panel moves bill to banish unfair trucking clause

* New Jersey - A bill in the Senate to address unfair clauses in trucking contracts 
  -- The New Jersey Senate Transportation Committee voted unanimously to advance a bill to do away with indemnification clauses in trucking contracts. The clauses are set up to protect shippers or hold them harmless from anything that happens with a shipment... The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association supports the legislative push... Mike Matousek, OOIDA’s director of state legislative affairs, has called the legislation a reasonable and fair solution to address existing rules that essentially provide shippers and receivers with immunity from any damage caused by their negligence while a trucker is on their property... States lawmakers across the country have been active the past few years changing rules on indemnity clauses. To date, 42 states have acted to forbid unfair provisions from contracts. Arkansas acted in the past few weeks to prohibit the protection for shippers... A full list of states, and the laws, where protections are in place is available. In addition to New Jersey, states that have yet to adopt protections are Delaware, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Rhode Island and Vermont... 
(Photo) --  Trenton, NJ, USA - Land Line, by Keith Goble - 17 April 2015

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Apr 18, 2015

SAFETY TRUCKS * USA: Troopers & Trucking working together ...

* Alabama - ... To promote safety

(Vance, ALA -- Alabama State Troopers ride with commercial truckers to as part of the Ticketing Aggressive Cars and Trucks or TACT program)
 -- A spike in accidents is bringing renewed attention to the dangers of 18-wheelers... Big rigs have made headlines recently, from crashes that clog traffic, to accidents like the one that took the life of Montgomery Police Officer David Colley. Despite the negative perception, there are efforts taking place right now to regulate the commercial trucking industry and promote safety on the road... Trucking industry officials and law enforcement will admit commercial vehicles get a bad rap... But as the Alabama Trucking Association points out, it's usually the vehicles trying to get past these semis that are to blame... The Alabama Trucking Association cautions drivers in passenger vehicles to slow down when they are around these commercial vehicles... This week, the Alabama Trucking Association will have an operation with their motor carrier unit, known as the TACT program, Ticketing Aggressive Cars and Trucks, working on-site and addressing issues... 
Montgomery, ALA, USA - WSFA 122, by Kacey Drescher - Apr 16, 2015


 * Pennsylvania - Truck Safety Records. Bill would block truck safety records from public

  --  Truck safety records are currently public. Every single time a truck driver is cited for a safety violation - whether it's for ignoring basic safety maintenance of equipment, disregarding hours of service requirements or reckless driving - the citation is logged into a federal database and made available to the public... The Hazleton-area Republican has introduced legislation that would shield the safety records of the trucking industry from public scrutiny. Barletta contends the system - known as Compliance Safety Accountability (CSA) - is flawed and misinterpreted by users - everyone from federal agencies, local governments, to carriers and manufacturers who may be looking to book a fleet or a charter bus... The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), which has oversight over the trucking/bus industry, uses the database to compute a safety score, which is given to all carriers, regardless of whether it's a 100-truck fleet or a landscaping business with three trucks... Barletta says the current system serves no one - not the trucking industry nor the public - because it does not provide safety records that reflect a company's safety record. His legislation - Safer Trucks and Buses Act would temporarily suspend the publication of safety scores to allow the scoring system to be reformed...
(Photo, Pennsylvania State trooper Brain Livingston issues a citation to a trucker out of Edison, New Jersey for out of date periodic inspection and three under-inflated tires) PENN, USA - Penn Live, by Ivey DeJesus - April 16, 2015

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Jul 6, 2010

Jason’s Law * USA - American Truckers and Organizations Unite for

USA -Ask the Trucker, by Allen Smith -June 28th, 2010: ... With all the issues existing within the trucking industry today, none have brought together a more unified atmosphere among truckers, bloggers, organizations, social media participants, and radio shows, than the desire to see the much needed bill, Jason’s Law passed into law... The Jason’s Law bill will allocate 120 million dollars over a 6 year period to ensure that safety improvements are made ( including SAFE adequate truck parking) for rest areas and truck stops... Jason Rivenburg was murdered as he parked to rest in an abandoned gas station because he could not find safe suitable truck parking for his early morning delivery. Adequate and safe truck parking has been a major concern of truckers for many years, with promises in the past made to remedy the problem... We are now all standing together to ensure that something be done and that the death of fellow truck driver Jason Rivenburg has not been in vain...


* USA - Parking Problems: Not Improved in 11 Years

USA -Truck Driver News -July 2, 2010: -- As most all truck drivers know how parking has been a problem for years – and steadily only gets worse... The problems only grow with truckers being able to find adequate and safe parking – stems from a problem within the trucking industry known as “just in time freight delivery.” This is where the receiving company does not have space available to store products they use to manufacture items that the public needs... These receiving companies can only take enough product on a per load bases or as needed. Which results in appointments having to be set up at different times for the trucks to deliver their loads... Communication problems or the lack of communications is also a problem that persist the trucking industry – between shippers and receivers and the carriers... The US Department of Transportation (DOT), and the Federal Motor Carriers Association (FMCSA) and the National Travel Safety Board (NTSB) know the problems with the lack of adequate and safe parking that exist today. These agencies were all involved in a truck parking study that was done in 1999 by the NTSB. There were problems then and the problems still remain today... The 1996 Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) study Commercial Driver Rest and Parking Requirements: Making Space for Safety found that a shortfall of parking spaces for commercial vehicles existed throughout the United States...

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Sep 16, 2008

BILL * USA - New Jersey to change how state’s hazmat haulers are compensated

NJ,USA -Land Line Magazine -September 15, 2008: -- A bill in the New Jersey Assembly that would change how the state compensates hazmat haulers could come up for consideration once lawmakers return Sept. 22 from a break... Sponsored by Assemblyman John Burzichelli, D-Gloucester, the bill would require New Jersey-based truckers who haul hazardous materials intrastate to be compensated “with an hourly wage, exclusive of overtime pay or other benefits paid to the driver”... The bill specifies that the hourly wage be paid by the business, corporation, company, organization or other entity a driver is hauling for... This marks the third time in recent years that Burzichelli has sought the change. The previous two efforts failed to advance from committee... Burzichelli said the legislation is intended as an alternative method of compensation to better promote safety on the state’s roadways...

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Jul 16, 2008

BILLS * USA - North Caroline: A status report on transportation bills

With legislators itching to hit the road in the next few days — maybe by the end of this week — here's where several transportation bills stand in the waning days of the General Assembly

Raleigh,NC,USA -The News & Observer, by Bruce Siceloff -15 July 2008: --
* Wide boats. H 2167 would let fishermen and other recreational boaters haul boats and trailers up to 10 feet wide on state roads without permits, day or night...

* Long trucks. S 1695 would let truckers haul 53-foot semi-trailers on more than 20,000 miles of North Carolina highways where the length limit now is 48 feet...

* Toll collection. S 1697 gives the NC Turnpike Authority some enforcement muscle it will need to collect tolls from turnpike scofflaws -- starting as soon as the end of 2010, when the Triangle Expressway is scheduled to accept its first paying customers.

* Driver's licenses. S 1799 authorizes DMV to start printing driver's licenses with black-and-white instead of color mugshots...

* Transit money. H 2363, the state's latest effort to get serious about public transit, has run out of gas this year... This bill didn't go anywhere this summer, primarily because Triangle legislators could not agree on the local option transit sales tax...

So the transit legislation will return next year, perhaps with proposals for new statewide transit funding...

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Mar 9, 2008

BILLS * USA - Maryland bill could hurt Washington County truckers

MAR,USA -Land Line Magazine, by Clarissa Kell-Holland -March 7, 2008: -- A bill has been introduced in Maryland that could affect truck drivers who live in Washington County and park their trucks at home... The bill – HB1599 – would make it illegal for a person to “park a commercial semitractor or a single-unit commercial truck more than 10,000 pounds in gross vehicle weight on a public road within a residential subdivision in the county.” Exceptions would be allowed when the truck is loading or unloading passengers, merchandise or materials...

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Mar 6, 2008

BILL * USA - Idaho: $57M in Trucking Fees Proposed

Idaho senators aim to raise an additional $57 million per year to build and repair Idaho roads largely from truckers from out-of-state

Boise,Idaho,USA -The Associated Press/The Houston Chronicle (Houston,TX) -March 6, 2008: — ... It's part of the push to ease a $200 million shortfall in transportation funding... Senators Tim Corder, a Mountain Home Republican who owns a trucking company, and Shawn Keough, from Sandpoint, introduced the bill Wednesday to charge all trucks that weigh more than 60,000 pounds a $660 annual registration fee... The truck owners would then pay 4.5 cents for every mile they travel on Idaho roads... The current system, Corder says, lets out-of-state truckers drive Idaho roads without paying the full cost... The Idaho Trucking Association, which represents long-haul truckers, will likely oppose the measure, he said...

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Jan 25, 2008

"Heavy-Duty Dialogue" * USA - NHTSA addresses stopping distances, stability systems

Las Vegas,Nev,USA -Truck News (CAN), by James Menzies -24 Jan 2008: -- Stephen Kratzke, associate administrator for rule making for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced that NHTSA won't dictate the type of technology OEMs will have to utilize to reduce stopping distances by 20 or 30%... Kratzke said that decision will be left up to the OEMs and their customers... NHTSA is also working on several other truck safety projects. One involves establishing standards for truck tire performance. The safety group is currently evaluating the current performance of truck tires, which should conclude in the first half of 2008, Kratzke said... Meanwhile, NHTSA is being strongly urged to roll out a program that would require stability systems on heavy-duty trucks... NHTSA is already testing both electronic full stability and roll-only stability systems. He said a rule will likely be announced by the end of 2008 with implementation possible within three to five years... Finally, the energy bill passed by the Bush Administration on Dec. 19 may set the stage for fuel efficiency requirements for heavy-duty vehicles. The bill was aimed mostly at the automotive industry, but Kratzke said it could also lead to fuel efficiency standards being imposed on heavy-duty truck makers... A report on fuel-saving technologies is expected to be released in 2009 and if they were to proceed with a fuel efficiency standard for heavy-duty vehicles, NHTSA would have three years to develop the targets. That means that as early as 2012, medium- and heavy-duty vehicles may have to reach minimum fuel efficiency standards...


* Courts confront climate change
San Francisco,CAL,USA -Independent Institute, by Thomas L. Knapp -January 25, 2008 -- Author: S. Fred Singer: “Late last year, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration must consider the ‘risks of global warming’ when setting gas-mileage standards for light trucks, minivans and SUVs. Central to the court’s ruling was the claim that NHTSA, in violation of the National Environmental Policy Act, had ignored the benefits of reducing emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2). Whatever their legal acumen, Justice Betty Fletcher and her colleagues on the bench demonstrated they have little expertise in climate science. Tighter restrictions on CO2 emissions cannot produce the imagined benefits”...

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Oct 17, 2007

Truck Size and Weights * USA - Changes gaining “buoyancy” on Capitol Hill

Las Vegas,NV,USA -Logistics Management, by John D. Schulz -October 16, 2007: -- Shippers could be enjoying as much as $50 billion in savings through greater productivity from their motor carriers if longer and heavier trucks are allowed when Congress crafts the next federal-aid highway bill in 2009... Miles Mittelstadt, associate general counsel of Schneider National, the nation’s second-largest truckload carrier, said the long-term trend in logistical savings has reversed... Still, longer and heavier trucks would not come without costs. Larger vehicles would cost the public about $6 billion per year in improvements in bridges, intersections and pavement improvements. That amounts to a “tax” of about 4 cents per mile for carriers. That would be offset somewhat by alleviating congestion...

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posted by Unknown @ 7:37 PM  0 comments

Truck Size and Weights * USA - Changes gaining “buoyancy” on Capitol Hill

Las Vegas,NV,USA -Logistics Management, by John D. Schulz -October 16, 2007: -- Shippers could be enjoying as much as $50 billion in savings through greater productivity from their motor carriers if longer and heavier trucks are allowed when Congress crafts the next federal-aid highway bill in 2009... Miles Mittelstadt, associate general counsel of Schneider National, the nation’s second-largest truckload carrier, said the long-term trend in logistical savings has reversed... Still, longer and heavier trucks would not come without costs. Larger vehicles would cost the public about $6 billion per year in improvements in bridges, intersections and pavement improvements. That amounts to a “tax” of about 4 cents per mile for carriers. That would be offset somewhat by alleviating congestion...

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Jun 8, 2007

TRUCKING BILLS * USA

* Minnesota - Law offers emissions reduction incentive; heavier truck bill dies
Minn,USA -Land Line Magazine (Grain Valley,MO), by Keith Goble /The Winona Daily News -June 7, 2007: -- Gov. Tim Pawlenty signed a bill into law that benefits truckers who want to reduce emissions. A provision was added to a Senate omnibus bill – SF2096 – that makes loans available to school districts and small trucking firms to install equipment to reduce fuel consumption... A separate initiative to increase some truck weight limits has died. The Minnesota Department of Transportation and others supported the effort. They said boosting truck weight limits would reduce congestion by loading up more stuff on fewer trucks... Opponents, including the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, said the proposed weight limits could cause problems down the road for truckers and other drivers. They are concerned about road safety and highway and bridge deterioration...

* New Jersey - Bill would outlaw text messaging
New Jersey,USA -Land Line Magazine (Grain Valley,MO), by Keith Goble -June 7, 2007: -- In an attempt to make the state’s roadways a little safer, a New Jersey Assembly panel advanced a bill intended to limit driver distractions... The Assembly Consumer Affairs Committee voted unanimously to release a bill to the full chamber that would make it illegal to type, read or send text messages while at the wheel...

* Missouri - HHG mover bill advances to governor
Miss,USA -Land Line Magazine (Grain Valley,MO) -June 7, 2007: -- The Senate unanimously approved a bill that would allow common carriers of household goods to file applications to the State Highways and Transportation Commission for approval of rates to reflect increases and decreases in the carrier’s costs. The House previously approved it...

* Connecticut - Bill would increase weigh station hours
Conn,USA --Land Line Magazine (Grain Valley,MO) -June 4, 2007: -- The Appropriations Committee overwhelmingly approved a bill that would require the Interstate 95 weigh station in Greenwich to be open at least 12 hours a day in four-hour shifts Monday through Friday. The facility would be open eight hours a day in four-hours shifts on weekends... The Greenwich station now is required to be open 256 hours a month. There are eight, eight-hour shifts per week... The bill would require the departments to share responsibility for the weigh stations...

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