CINCINNATI. Richard P. Schweitzer, general council/government affairs for the National Private Truck Council (NPTC), delivered his annual legislative and regulatory update during the opening general session of NPTC’s Annual Education Management Conference and Exhibition here this morning. Concerning the pending changes to driver Hours of Service (HOS) regulations, his advice was direct: “Plan on the new rules going into effect on July 1 as they are written.”...More
Anthony Foxx, currently mayor for the city of Charlotte, NC, is expected by a wide range of sources to be tapped by President Obama’s administration today to be the next U.S. Secretary of Transportation, replacing Ray LaHood....More
Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization (HRTPO) officials in Virginia are putting out the idea of congestion tolls on the I-64 Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel (HRBT) and the I-664 Monitor Merrimack Bridge Tunnel (MMBT) to manage traffic. Chairman of the HRTPO Molly Ward and chief executive Dwight Farmer included the idea in a presentation to the state transportation board last week....More
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Assn.’s challenge to a federal pilot program allowing Mexican drivers to deliver goods across the border in the U.S. was rejected Friday by the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington which found the plan was consistent with Congress’ intent....More
J.J. Keller & Associates has produced the Hazmat Handbook: the Complete Guide for CMV Drivers. The book was created for hazmat drivers and provides answers to safety and compliance questions commonly asked by hazmat drivers.
The book was written by hazmat experts to serve as a take-along resource. It covers essential information that ensures the safe transportation of hazardous materials, including best practices, practical how-to information and plain-English explanations of complex and confusing hazmat regulations....More
The American Trucking Assns. made arguments last week before the U.S. Supreme Court regarding the trucking federation’s ongoing challenge to what ATA calls an “ill-founded attempt by the Port of Los Angeles to impose a comprehensive licensing scheme on trucks hauling freight in and out of the port.”...More
J.J. Keller has created a new online tool to help comply with OSHA’s alignment of the HazCom Standard with the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS). This alignment means big changes for hazard classification, labels and Safety Data Sheets (SDSs), the company said....More
The International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association’s (IBTTA)Transportation Finance and Mileage-Based User Fee Symposium is meeting in Philadelphia, PA this week. The organization is the worldwide association representing toll facility owners, operators and the businesses that serve them....More
A 97-count indictment was filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of Ohio last month charging 28 people with violations including conspiracy, wire fraud and money laundering for their roles in a scheme that skimmed more than $1.7 million from trucking companies.
The indictment charges that the defendants fraudulently obtained account numbers and codes used by trucking companies to wire money to drivers from February 2011 through November 2012. ...More
Driving a dirty, mud-caked rig? You may want to wash it down, that is if you plan to cross the border into Canada.
The Canadian Boarder Services Agency is barring entry to trucks that it deems too dirty in accordance with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s regulations prohibiting the importation of soil into the country....More
The Texas Dept. of Public Safety said a routine vehicle inspection last week resulted in the arrest of a Texas trucker when close to 4 tons of marijuana valued at $3.4 million was found stowed in his tanker trailer.
According toCBS affiliate KZTV news, a trooper stopped the truck in San Patricio County, outside of Corpus Christi, TX, to perform a routine visual inspection of the vehicle, but instead found 8,000 lbs. of pot concealed inside....More
A Pennsylvania man who was arrested Wednesday for threatening to detonate a bomb in a truck parked in front of the White House told a Secret Service agent he was using the bomb as “leverage” to speak to President Barack Obama about repressive truck regulations....More
A class action lawsuit filed against Navistar International Corp. by a group of shareholders alleges that the OEM essentially lied to investors about its efforts to achieve compliance with EPA 2010 diesel-engine emissions rules.
The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on behalf of purchasers of common stock of Navistar International Corp. during the period between Nov. 3, 2010, and Aug. 1, 2012, inclusive....More
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is warning of attempts to defraud CDL drivers seeking employment and CDL training schools who are attempting to help students find jobs.
In the scam, the fraudster promises employment in return for money paid to fraudulent “recruiters.”...More
The U.S. Dept. of Labor has ordered Contract Transport Inc., Des Moines, IA, to pay 201 drivers more than $160,000 in back wages and fringe benefits.
The Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division said Contract Transport Inc. did not pay some drivers for delay time during trips and instead paid them based on a predetermined number of hours. Some delays were caused by weather, construction or other factors, according to a BND report....More
Truck drivers traveling on I-64 through New Kent, Virginia, are being warned if they’re caught using a hand-held cell phone while driving they risk a fine up to $2,700. And the odds of getting caught will increase beginning April 8....More
An Illinois truck driver was arrested at a New Jersey Turnpike rest area while he was attempting to peddle a 42,000-lb. load of Muenster cheese stolen from Wisconsin worth an estimated $200,000.
Veniamin Balika, 34, a trucker from Plainfield, IL, was released on bond following his arrest on March 26 on charges of receiving stolen property and fencing....More
One provision of the Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) recently amended final rule on Commercial Driver’s License Testing and Commercial Learner’s Permit Standards may cause concern about its potential impact on the integrity of the commercial driver’s license (CDL) licensing process....More
The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) launched its third annual commercial driver survey this week to identify the impacts of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) rules on trucking operations-- as well as driver perceptions and attitudes toward the program....More
In our April issue of Fleet Owner we asked what one thing Congress could do to help your business.
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The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has shut down two fleets, General Trucking, Inc., Atlanta, GA, and Highway Star, Inc., Oak Park, MI, declaring the two operations imminent hazards to highway safety....More
April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month and Aegis Mobility said it’s the ideal time to conduct its Third Annual Workplace Distracted Driving Survey.
Aegis Mobility was founded in 2006 to address the distracted while driving problem of cell phone use in vehicles....More
A National Labor Relations Board judge has ordered a Philadelphia manufacturer to rehire and give back pay and benefits to 13 truck drivers the company terminated last year for discussing forming a union.
Cardboard box maker Pratt Corrugated Logistics maintained it terminated two workers for poor performance and the remaining 11 after it decided to contract its pickups and deliveries to outside trucking companies....More
Truckers using toll roads in the Austin, TX, area will get an extended break on the cost of tolls in an effort by the state to encourage more commercial vehicles to travel the toll roads. Beginning April 1, 2013, TxDOT announced it will be offering reduced tolls for trucks on State Highway 130 and State Highway 45SE. For a year, truckers on those highways will pay the same tolls as a two-axle passenger vehicle....More
The American Trucking Assns. (ATA) characterized the changes the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) made to driver Hours--of-Service (HOS) rules in 2011 as “driven” by an agenda in arguments it made before a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Friday....More
