On September 11, 2011, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration ("FMCSA") will eliminate the practice of allowing non-motor carrier registrants to obtain registrant-only USDOT numbers. The "registrant-only" USDOT number was developed by the FMCSA as a way to identify registered owners of commercial motor vehicles ("CMVs") that are not motor carriers, but lease their CMVs to entities that are motor carriers.
Ultimately, the FMCSA determined that the registrant-only USDOT numbers were having an adverse affect on its ability to track motor carriers' safety violations. In too many cases, law enforcement personnel were being presented with registrant-only USDOT numbers during inspections and crash investigations. As a result, the data that should have been assigned to the record of the offending motor carrier operating the CMV was being erroneously assigned to the registrant-only USDOT number - a number that should have no safety events assigned to it.
The American Trucking Associations ("ATA") continues to press the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration ("FMCSA") on CSA crash accountability. In our previous post dated June 24, 2010, we noted that one of the concerns voiced by the ATA about the current CSA system was that accidents enter the system without the recognition of fault. Dave Osiecki, senior vice president of policy and regulatory affairs at ATA, sent a letter to the FMCSA this week requesting the agency remove the following types of crashes from the safety measurement system: crashes involving a vehicle traveling in the wrong direction; crashes involving a vehicle rear-ending a truck while legally stopped at a traffic light; crashes involving a vehicle striking a truck while legally parked off the road; and documented suicides. According to Osiecki, these types of crashes should be removed as a matter of agency policy because it is reasonable to presume that the commercial driver and carrier in these types of crashes have no accountability for the crash.
Vermont has become the 27th state to pass a texting while driving ban. Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas recently signed an anti-texting bill and the law took effect June 1st. The new law is primary (meaning that a law enforcement officer can stop a motorist based solely on the suspicion of texting) and prohibits an operator of a motor vehicle on a public road from texting - imposing a $100 penalty for the first offense and $250 for each subsequent offense within a two year timeframe.
In April we reported that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is proposing to toughen the punishment under its current texting ban that was established in January. In addition to the steep fines now in place (up to $2,750 for each texting offense), the proposal would temporarily suspend commercial drivers caught texting while driving – at least 60 days for the second offense within three years and at least 120 days for three or more offenses within three years. In addition, part of the proposal seeks to add state or local anti-texting laws to the list of serious traffic violations that can lead to disqualification for CDL drivers so motor carriers operating through Vermont should keep this in mind.
Yesterday Kansas become the 26th state to pass a texting while driving ban, as Gov. Mark Parkinson signed an anti-texting bill into law. The new law prohibits an operator of a motor vehicle on a public road from texting. In the bill, “texting” is defined as using a wireless communication device to write, send, or read a written communication. The bill includes exceptions for law enforcement and emergency service personnel; receiving emergency, traffic, or weather related messages; reporting illegal activity to law enforcement; and using a wireless communications device to make or receive a phone call.
Note that law enforcement will be required to issue a warning citation for violations until January 1, 2011 and the subsequent fine for unlawful texting will be $60 per incident.
In April we reported that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is proposing to toughen the punishment under its current texting ban that was established in January. In addition to the steep fines now in place (up to $2,750 for each texting offense), the proposal seeks to suspend commercial drivers caught texting while driving. In addition, part of the proposal seeks to add state or local anti-texting laws to the list of serious traffic violations that can lead to disqualification for CDL drivers so motor carriers operating through Kansas should keep this in mind.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is proposing to toughen the punishment under the current texting ban that was established in January. In addition to the steep fines now in place (up to $2,750 for each texting offense), the proposal seeks to disqualify commercial drivers caught texting while driving. This will affect approximately 7 million commercial interstate drivers of trucks and other vehicles. In addition, part of the proposal seeks to add state or local anti-texting laws to the list of serious traffic violations that can lead to disqualification for CDL drivers. For example, if a driver commits a second offense within three years, he would be disqualified for at least 60 days. A 120-day disqualification results from three offenses within a three year period.
Notice of the proposed rulemaking was published in the Federal Register today with a request for comments due by May 3, 2010.
Most provisions of the DOT Regulations on commercial vehicle safety have been inapplicable to interstate commercial passenger vehicles with capacity between 9 and 15 passengers (including the driver) that operated only within 75 miles of their base location. The FMCSA has now amended these DOT Regulations to require, effective June 1, 2010, that such operations comply with the most of the commercial vehicle safety requirements, including vehicle identification, driver qualification requirements, prohibitions against use of alcohol, drugs and other substances, vehicle inspection, repair, and maintenance, and hours of service regulations. The FMCSA noted it expects that most, if not all, such operators will be covered by the short-haul provisions of the hours of service regulations. The commercial driver's license and controlled substances and alcohol testing requirements will not apply to these operations.
The FMCSA stated this action is required by the SAFETEA-LU legislation enacted in 2005. Its announcement appeared at 75 Fed. Reg. 4996 (Feb. 1, 2010).
On January 26, 2010, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced federal guidance expressly prohibiting texting by drivers of commercial motor vehicles. The announcement was followed by publication in the Federal Register on January 27, 2010, of regulatory guidance issued by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration interpreting section 390.17 of the motor carrier regulations to prohibit drivers from texting while driving a commercial motor vehicle. That section of the motor carrier regulations generally allows use of additional equipment or accessories, but prohibits the use of any such equipment or accessory that decreases the safety of operation of commercial motor vehicles. Since the ban against texting takes the form of an interpretation of an existing regulation, the ban is not subject to notice and comment rule making and is effective as of January 27, 2010.
Effective January 1, 2009, both Ontario and Quebec began requiring that commercial motor vehicles operating within those provinces be equipped with speed limiters set at 105 km/h, which equates to 65 mph. The regulations were subject to an educational period of soft enforcement, but are now being enforced in both provinces. Importantly, the rules are not limited to vehicles based in either province. Thus, for instance, a U.S. based vehicle operating in either province pursuant to Canadian authority is subject to the commercial vehicle safety measure. Fines vary in each province. The regulations will be enforced by enforcement officers that will plug a portable testing device into the vehicle's Electronic Control Module.
The Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety has filed a petition with the U.S. Department of Transportation, calling on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (”FMCSA”) to implement a rulemaking that would restrict the use of “unsafe electronic devices” (including cell phones) by drivers of commercial vehicles, such as tractor-trailers, motorcoach buses, and large vans. The petition asks the FMCSA to immediately open a rulemaking proceeding to determine the safety of electronic devices used by drivers operating commercial vehicles and to make it so that those drivers that use a prohibited or restricted device while operating a commercial vehicle will be issued an Out-of-Service order.
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