Commercial Driver’s License

FMCSA to upgrade communication on new-driver training

The trucking industry’s top safety regulator plans to step up its communications with state agencies and training schools before next year’s compliance date for new entry-level driver training (ELDT) requirements.

In a final rule to be published on Wednesday formalizing the Feb. 7, 2022, extension date for implementing the new regulation, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said it “plans to provide further guidance as the compliance date approaches.”

The ELDT rule, which sets minimum...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/fmcsa-to-upgrade-communication-on-new-driver-training

DOT investigating safety of camera-based rearview mirrors

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) wants truck drivers to help the agency assess the safety of replacing outside rear mirrors with in-cab cameras.

DOT’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) will publish on Monday a notice seeking comments on the proposal, which will then be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget to be approved.

The goal of NHTSA’s proposal, which is looking for drivers to conduct tests in passenger vehicles as well, is “to characterize...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/dot-investigating-safety-of-camera-based-rearview-mirrors

Feds push police to check truck driver seat-belt compliance

A top safety official in the trucking industry is urging police to step up enforcement of seat-belt laws on motor carriers due to the high number of drivers and other occupants who weren’t complying with those laws when they died in crashes.

Speaking on Wednesday at a virtual business meeting organized by the Intermodal Association of North America, Jack Van Steenburg, chief safety officer at the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), cited the most recent statistics showing that...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/feds-push-police-to-check-truck-driver-seat-belt-compliance

New head of CVTA focusing on entry-level driver training rule

Helping prepare truck driver training schools for a major new federal regulation is at the top of A. Bailey Wood’s priority list.

Wood is taking over as president and CEO of the Commercial Vehicle Training Association (CVTA) from Don Lefeve.

“Obviously the first issue in terms of the association’s priorities is implementation of the entry-level driver training [ELDT] rule, and making sure the states are ready for it as well as the industry,” Wood told FreightWaves. “We’ve had several webinars and...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/new-head-of-cvta-focusing-on-entry-level-driver-training-rule

Feds grant Wilson Logistics team-driver flexibility

A new federal exemption will allow Wilson Logistics more flexibility for its drivers holding commercial learner’s permits (CLPs) to participate in revenue-generating loads.

The Springfield, Missouri-based carrier sought the exemption from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to allow CLP holders who have passed the commercial driver’s license (CDL) skills test — but have not yet obtained the CDL document from the state where they live — to drive a truck without having a CDL...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/feds-grant-wilson-logistics-team-driver-flexibility

Regulators propose more sleeper berth flexibility

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is looking for drivers to participate in a proposed pilot program to evaluate splitting the 10-hour sleeper berth rest time into 6/4 and 5/5 periods.

According to the proposal announced on Thursday, which will be open to comments for 60 days after publishing in the Federal Register, FMCSA wants to recruit 200 to 400 commercial driver’s license (CDL) holders who regularly use the sleeper berth provision. The agency wants to include drivers...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/regulators-propose-more-sleeper-berth-flexibility

CDL fraud could rise under relaxed requirements

Tractor trailers and automobiles may share the roadways, but not everybody has the right to drive in the proverbial truck lane. 

Obtaining a commercial driver’s license (CDL) is a rite of passage for any driver eager to traverse the wide world of logistics. However, this rite isn’t a right — it must be earned.

As the trucking industry continues to grapple with a driver shortage as well as coronavirus-related delays in CDL issuance, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) issued a...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/cdl-fraud-could-rise-under-relaxed-requirements

Drug/Alcohol Clearinghouse fines set at $5,833 per violation

Drivers, carriers and medical review officers (MROs) could be fined up to $5,833 for each violation of any provisions within the Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse, according to the latest directive from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).

DOT issued a final rule on Monday that implements the authority of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to assess civil penalties for violations of the Clearinghouse, at 49 CFR part 382 subpart G of the code of federal regulations.

“Any...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/drugalcohol-clearinghouse-fines-set-at-5833-per-violation

FMCSA relaxes rules to help drivers get CDLs

Federal regulators issued a final rule Thursday to make it easier to obtain a commercial driver’s license despite concerns that the change could open the door to CDL training fraud.

The rule, based on a proposal issued in June 2019, was initiated after complaints that the current standards for knowledge and skills testing were too restrictive. The final rule eliminates a requirement prohibiting a third-party CDL skills instructor — who is authorized to administer the CDL skills test — from...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/fmcsa-relaxes-rules-to-help-drivers-get-cdls

FMCSA to abolish driver requirement to list traffic violations

Trucking regulators want to eliminate a requirement that drivers provide their employers a list each year of their traffic violations, asserting that it overlaps with provisions that require carriers to obtain the same information.

In a proposed rule scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on Monday, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) stated it does not expect the change to affect safety because the carriers’ annual motor vehicle record (MVR) requirement “would...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/news-alert-fmcsa-to-abolish-driver-requirement-to-list-traffic-violations

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