Hours of service

TCA’s Heller: Trucking has adjusted to route diversions post-Baltimore

Members of the Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) have adjusted smoothly enough to the disruptions at the Port of Baltimore that a conference call among its members scheduled for Thursday — the latest in a series — was canceled because a great deal of initial concern among TCA members has disappeared.

“A lot of the shock we had was in the first two calls,” David Heller, the TCA’s senior vice president of government affairs, told FreightWaves when asked about the scheduled meeting. “We want to...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/tcas-heller-trucking-has-adjusted-to-route-diversions-post-baltimore

Baltimore gets FMCSA waiver, timeline for first reopening is suggested

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has issued a waiver for trucking impacted by the collapse of the Francis Scott Key bridge in Maryland. Meanwhile, the outlines of a possible return to at least partial service at the port of Baltimore has been sketched out by the state’s Department of Transportation. 

The FMCSA issued the waiver late Thursday night. Most prominent among the changes is adding two hours to the allowed hours of daily driving under the 14-hour on-duty limit. That...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/baltimore-gets-fmcsa-waiver-timeline-for-first-reopening-is-suggested

Kodiak Robotics, Forward Air begin Dallas-Atlanta autonomous runs

Kodiak Robotics and Forward Air Corp. are beginning thrice-weekly autonomous freight round-trip runs between Dallas and Atlanta using teams of safety drivers to comply with hours-of-service regulations that likely won’t apply to driverless trucks.

Mountain View, California-based Kodiak expects to pull the driver on specific routes in 2024. But for now, the biggest cost of moving freight — the driver — is still part of the picture. Kodiak uses four drivers rotating between local and long-haul...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/kodiak-robotics-and-forward-air-begin-dallas-atlanta-autonomous-runs

The building blocks of a compliant safety program

For all motor carriers, safety compliance is one of the most basic necessities for success, but navigating the ins and outs is far from simple due to the extensive nature of Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulations.

Each carrier needs a safety program that allows them to withstand Department of Transportation (DOT) roadside inspections and carrier investigations. Last year alone, over 85,000 federal roadside inspections took place, which is the most since 2019, and there...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/the-building-blocks-of-a-compliant-safety-program

ELD transfer violation could cause snowball effect on CSA scores

Up until December, motor carriers’ Compliance, Safety and Accountability (CSA) scores weren’t impacted by a common hours-of-service violation: A driver not being able to transfer logs to a law enforcement officer during roadside inspections.

But now, the once zero-point violation could cost carriers at least three points and potentially more.

“This is pretty significant because what happens here is not only can we get hit with that one violation, but that could lead to several other violations,...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/eld-transfer-violation-could-cause-snowball-effect-on-csa-scores

Borderlands: Mexico proposes to modify truck drivers hours-of-service rule

Borderlands is a weekly rundown of developments in the world of U.S.-Mexico cross-border trucking and trade. This week: Mexico proposes to modify its truck driver hours-of-service rule; two logistics providers expand operations into New Mexico; an auto parts supplier expands in Mexico, creating 600 jobs; and $8.3 million worth of meth was seized from a truck at the Laredo port of entry.

Mexico proposes to modify truck driver hours-of-service rule

The Mexican government is considering a proposal...

Autonomous freight grows as source of 3rd-party capacity

Red Kodiak robotics truck in front of row of Werner Enterprises trucks

Kodiak Robotics and Werner Enterprises hauled autonomous freight four times round-trip between Dallas and Lake City, Florida, over 152 consecutive hours, the latest evidence that robots could replace human drivers on unpopular long-haul routes. 

With commercialization of driverless trucks still years away, Kodiak slipped its trained safety drivers in and out of the Peterbilt 579 cabs as the hours-of-service clock ticked down to the 11-hour limit of operation. The trucks didn’t need a break....

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/as-autonomous-trucking-routes-get-longer-who-does-the-supervising

Refinery shutdown pushes FMCSA to temporarily lift hours-of-service rules

A truck hauling a tank trailer on the highway

Federal regulators announced Friday a temporary exemption to hours-of-service rules for carriers hauling fuel products to multiple states throughout the Midwest affected by a refinery shutdown.

Motor carriers and drivers providing “direct assistance supporting emergency relief efforts” by hauling gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel or other refined petroleum products to Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin are temporarily exempt. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said the decision...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/refinery-shutdown-pushes-fmcsa-to-temporarily-lift-hours-of-service-rules

FMCSA extends COVID hours of service waiver another 3 months

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s COVID-19 hours of service waiver has been extended yet again.

The waiver was to expire Tuesday. But late last week, just prior to the holiday weekend, it was extended again. The original COVID waiver was put into place March 13, 2020, in the first days of the pandemic. Since then, it has been both modified and extended several times, with the most recent expansion coming just a few weeks ago, when the transport of propane, natural gas and heating...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/fmcsa-extends-covid-hours-of-service-waiver-another-3-months

Getting your fleet in shape for Roadcheck 2022

Roadcheck checklist

Fleets across North America annually fret about the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s International Roadcheck event. This year’s event will take place May 17-19, and if past experiences have taught the industry anything, it is that some percentage — perhaps as high as 20% — of vehicles and/or drivers will find themselves sitting on the side of the road following an out-of-service order.

“Roadcheck should not be a cause for concern,” explained Tom Bray, senior industry business adviser for J....

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/getting-your-fleet-in-shape-for-roadcheck-2022

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