Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association Foundation

Rear underride guards to be included in annual inspections

Federal regulators want to update safety standards by including rear underride guards on the list of items that must be examined as part of required annual inspections for every truck.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) proposed rulemaking, scheduled to be published on Tuesday, follows recommendations from the U.S. Government Accountability Office last year and a petition from the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance seeking the change.

Federal regulations have required rear...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/rear-underride-guards-to-be-included-in-annual-inspections

Owner-operators opposing Teamsters in HOS lawsuit

Small-business truckers want to make sure their voices are heard when a federal appeals court takes up a challenge to the recently amended hours-of-service (HOS) regulations.

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) on Friday filed a “motion to intervene” with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in support of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), which is defending its rule changes from the challenge filed in September by the...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/owner-operators-opposing-teamsters-in-hos-lawsuit

Split-duty rest break: A lever for boosting capacity?

As the coronavirus pandemic injects more instability into the trucking sector, a push by federal regulators to make hours-of-service (HOS) rules more flexible could also make drivers’ schedules more predictable while boosting capacity.

Last month the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) published a proposed Split Duty Pilot Program whereby participating truck drivers would have the option to pause their 14-hour driving window with an off-duty period lasting between 30 minutes and...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/split-duty-rest-break-a-lever-for-boosting-capacity

Breaking News: House approves trucking insurance increase and hours-of-service delay

A major infrastructure package that includes provisions to hike truckers’ insurance coverage to $2 million and delay the September 29 start date for new federal hours of service (HOS) changes was approved today by the U.S. House of Representatives.

The $1.5 trillion Moving Forward Act, which passed the Democrat-controlled House largely along party lines by a vote of 233 to 188, was derided by Republicans in the chamber as a “wish list” partisan bill heavy on climate-change related proposals that...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/breaking-news-house-approves-trucking-insurance-increase-and-hours-of-service-delay

USTA’s Landis confirms progress on broker investigation

While the battle over truck broker transparency and alleged misconduct has cooled somewhat in recent weeks, the fight continues in offices and backrooms in Washington.

Broker-carrier relationships have often been contentious, but tanking spot rates during the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic brought with it new allegations of unethical behavior on the part of brokers by small business truckers.

What was initially anticipated as a weekend “May Day” rally in Washington by independent...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/ustas-landis-confirms-progress-on-broker-investigation

Lawmakers prod FMCSA to move on driver detention

U.S. lawmakers have joined with federal watchdogs in pressuring the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to address driver detention times.

The INVEST in America Act, a $494 billion, five-year reauthorization of surface transportation programs introduced on Wednesday by Democrats on the U.S. House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, requires that the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), through FMCSA, begin collecting data from drivers and carriers on delays during...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/lawmakers-prod-fmcsa-to-move-on-driver-detention

Owner-operators seek DOT enforcement of broker regulations

Owner-operators have stepped up their fight for greater broker transparency by formally petitioning the Trump Administration to levy fines on brokers for non-compliance.

“Brokers have been deliberately skirting federal transparency regulations for decades,” said Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) President and CEO Todd Spencer. “We certainly don’t think exempting yourself from federal regulations is legal, but this is precisely what is happening. It has to stop.”

A source...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/owner-operators-seek-dot-enforcement-of-broker-regulations

COVID-19 study finds disaster plan readiness linked to fleet size

Fleet size directly correlates with whether a carrier has a disaster plan in place to deal with emergencies such as a long-term pandemic, according to a new trucking industry study.

The study, released Tuesday by the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) and the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association Foundation (an affiliate of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association), found that most owner-operators and trucking firms do not have a formal disaster plan, and of...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/covid-19-study-finds-disaster-plan-readiness-linked-to-fleet-size