It's time to celebrate the professional truck driver! National Truck Driver Appreciation Week, held September 19-25, 2010, is a chance to extend a special “thank you” for all their hard work.
During National Truck Driver Appreciation Week (NTDAW), America and the trucking industry honors and recognizes the true knights of the road for their hard work and commitment to the vital role they play in the economic growth of North America. Companies and industry associations across the U.S. and Canada will host special events and promotions in honor of professional truck drivers.
It’s no secret that the backbone of this dynamic industry is its drivers. Driving a truck is one of the country’s most demanding and essential jobs. Millions of these dedicated men and women travel the roads every day, sacrificing a lot personally to deliver the freight that keeps the country moving. They miss birthdays, anniversaries, family dinners, school plays and many other special moments that most of us take for granted.
NTDAW allows the rest of us to recognize and appreciate the sacrifices that our drivers make every day out there. Be sure to let the men and women driving those trucks down the highway know it’s appreciated. Sometimes a little gratitude goes a long way.
Thank you drivers for a job well done!
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During the 2nd annual two-week long drug and alcohol strike force sweep, which took place between June 21 and July 2, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) took 109 bus and truck drivers off the roads. The drug and alcohol strike force also levied charges against more than 175 carriers.
The strike force, consisting of FMCSA investigators as well as state truck and bus safety officials, examined the drug and alcohol safety records of commercial drivers employed by bus and truck companies, including school bus drivers, interstate passenger carriers, hazardous material transporters and general freight long-haul trucking companies. Their goals were to identify motor carriers in violation of federal drug and alcohol testing requirements and to remove from the road commercial truck and bus drivers who jump from carrier to carrier to evade federal drug and alcohol testing and reporting requirements.
"FMCSA is committed to ensuring that only safe commercial drivers and carriers are allowed to operate," said FMCSA Administrator Anne Ferro. "Our annual drug and alcohol strike force is just one of the ways we weed out those 'bad actors' and make our roads safer for everyone."
The 109 commercial drivers identified in the sweep may face a monetary fine and risk being barred from operating a commercial motor vehicle for failing to adhere to federal drug and alcohol regulations. In addition, the 175 commercial carriers face pending enforcement actions for violations, such as using a driver who has tested positive for illegal drugs and for not instituting a drug and alcohol testing program. Both drivers and carriers will have an opportunity to contest the alleged violations and the amount of the civil penalties.
Although the success of the drug and alcohol task force is commendable, this is symptomatic of a larger problem: the lack of a National Drug & Alcohol Testing Clearinghouse. This Clearinghouse would make it possible for employers to check a database to determine whether or not a prospective employee has either failed or refused to take a DOT drug test. As of now, there is no “sure-fire” way for carriers to verify whether or not an employee has failed a pre-employment drug test from another carrier.
From a regulatory standpoint, a driver must be removed safety-sensitive duty if he/she has a positive DOT drug test result. A driver cannot be returned to safety-sensitive duties until he/she has been evaluated by a substance abuse professional, has complied with recommended rehabilitation, and has a negative result on a return-to-duty drug test. Not being able to adequately verify this information puts the carrier, as well as the motoring public, at risk.
The concept of a National Drug & Alcohol Testing Clearinghouse has been supported in the trucking industry for over 10 years. Its creation is currently written into the new Highway Reauthorization Bill, which has been delayed for over a year due to the concern over the increased cost of the new bill.
Unless that bill is passed, or unless a National Drug & Alcohol Testing Clearinghouse is created separately, the motoring public will have to be satisfied with the successes of the annual drug and alcohol strike force.
When Ann Ferro, the current FMCSA Administrator, was sworn in last year, it was with the agreement that the FMCSA would review and consider crafting a new Hours of Service (HOS) rule to put a lawsuit by special interest groups, including Public Citizen, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, and the Teamsters union, on hold.
With this settlement, the FMCSA would be required to have a formal draft of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) by mid-July 2010, and would publish a final rule within 21 months of the date of settlement (Oct. 26, 2009), which would be July 26, 2011.
Between January and March 2010, the FMCSA held a total of 5 listening sessions across the country to get feedback from both drivers and carriers regarding current HOS rules, and any proposed changes.
Those who attended the listening sessions, both motor carriers and drivers, were primarily in favor of keeping the current HOS rules – a 14-hour workday, with a maximum 11 hours of drive time and 3 hours for loading/unloading, followed by a 10-hour off-duty period. The current rules also limit drivers to 60/70 hours on duty in 7/8 consecutive days. They then may restart their 7/8 consecutive day period after taking 34 or more consecutive hours off duty – also known as the “34-hour restart” provision.
From a safety perspective, the current HOS rules are working. "In the very real world of trucking, highway safety has improved in the past 6 years under these rules," said Dave Osiecki, ATA’s VP of Safety, Security & Operations. According to Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) figures released earlier this year, the truck-involved fatality rate in 2008 declined 12.3 percent from 2007. This decline marks the largest year-to-year drop ever and the fifth consecutive year the fatality rate has improved. Since new hours-of-service regulations took effect in 2005, the truck-involved fatality rate has come down more than 20 percent and is at its lowest since the U.S. Department of Transportation began keeping those records in 1975. The fatality rate has declined more than 66 percent since 1975.
According to research by the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) on the current HOS rules, the total collision rate was down 11.7 percent and preventable collisions decreased 30.6 percent from 2004 to 2009. Another key finding from ATRI’s analysis was that, in 2009, the majority of commercial vehicle crashes (87%) occurred within the first eight hours of driving. A similar trend was found in an analysis of fatal truck collisions using the Trucks Involved in Fatal Accidents (TIFA) database. A review of 2007 TIFA data showed that 80 percent of fatal truck collisions occurred within the first eight hours of driving.
This chart displays the distribution of DOT recordable collisions for each of the 11 driving hours. The crash rate peaks during the first three hours.
However, one way to improve the rule, which was suggested by many in attendance at the 5 listening sessions, would be to allow for more flexibility in the sleeper berth provision. This flexibility would encourage circadian friendly sleep and naps, rather than constraining drivers to one, inflexible option under the current HOS rules, which overlooks the individual needs of each driver. The current HOS rules, with a 14-hour clock that doesn’t stop once started, discourages drivers from stopping for meals or to stretch their legs, actually increasing fatigue.
According to the ATA, to better address the true causes of fatigue in transportation, FMCSA should focus its resources on (1) sleep disorder awareness, training and screening, (2) promoting the use of Fatigue Risk Management Programs, (3) increasing the availability of truck parking on important freight corridors, and (4) partnering with the trucking and shipping communities to develop an educational process that identifies for drivers the location of available truck parking.
The FMCSA acknowledged the industry’s pleas for more flexibility, but stressed concern over being able to prevent abuse. FMCSA Administrator Ferro stated, "We've heard about the need for flexibility…what I haven't heard yet is how you take a rule with flexibility in it and ensure you've got sufficient structure to go after the folks that are going to abuse that flexibility. We all know it happens today, it happened before, and it will happen again."
A recent document, filed on behalf of the Truck Safety Coalition, Public Citizen and Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, and posted on www.regulations.gov, reveals that daily driving time under a new HOS rule should be reduced by 27 percent. The document calls for a maximum 12-hour work shift, with no more than eight consecutive hours of driving per shift. The document, one of over 300 documents related to the new rule, also calls for universal electronic on-board recorder (EOBR) equipment.
The coalition said it wants to see a maximum of 40 driving hours in a seven-day period and a maximum of 60 hours of work time in a seven-day period. It also wants to see a minimum 48-hour, off-duty layover, rather than the current 34-hour “restart”. Industry reports indicate that a reduction of allowable driving time from eleven to eight hours, and elimination of the 34-hour restart rule, could cost the trucking industry $3.1 billion or more annually.
In late June, the office of DOT Secretary Ray Lahood received the first draft of a new HOS rule from the FMCSA. After reviewing it and determining it was not necessary to be sent back to FMCSA for revisions, the first draft was sent to the White House (Office of Management & Budget, or OMB) for what's expected to be an additional three-month review. Currently in the NPRM stage, the proposal is by no means in a near final form.
The OMB will consider how the rules will impact the larger picture, such as how much it will cost and how it will affect national economic policy. Once OMB signs off on the regulation, it will then be published in the Federal Register. The FMCSA’s goal is to publish the NPRM on November 4.
Once published in the Federal Register, the public will, for the first time, get full disclosure of the agency’s plan on what, if any, changes will be made to the current HOS regulations.
In April, during an FMCSA oversight hearing, Senate Sub-committee Chairman Lautenberg (D-NJ) said, “The Obama administration has made the right move by initiating a new rulemaking on driver hours…but let’s be clear: When this process is over, we cannot wind up with the same flawed regulations that the last administration designed.”
If this is any indication on the direction of a new HOS rule, the industry could be in for a rude awakening.
The 2010 Indiana Truck Driving Championships was held on Father’s Day weekend, Saturday, June 19th, at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis. Nearly 120 CDL drivers competed against each other in 8 different classes: Straight Truck, 3-Axle Van, 4-Axle Van, 5-Axle Van, 5-Axle Sleeper, Flatbed, Tanker, and Twin Trailer.
The competition consists of a “skills test” (obstacle course), a written test, and a pre-trip inspection test. Awards were given out on Saturday evening at the Banquet of Champions for the drivers who finished in the top 3 of each class, as well as the driver with the highest score, the Rookie of the Year award, and the Team Award for the highest scoring team. Each first place winner will be competing at the 2010 National Truck Driving Championships in Columbus, OH August 3-7.
Each year, Driving Ambition drivers and office staff serve as volunteers to help judge this event.
This year’s winners:
Straight Truck Class
1st place: Dennis Shirar from Heritage Transport
2nd place: Mike Wilson from Con-Way Freight
3rd place: Troy Davis from FedEx Express
3-Axle Van Class
1st place: William Wurz from Con-Way Freight
2nd place: Greg Weil from Con-Way Freight
3rd place: Kenneth Buntain from UPS Freight
4-Axle Van Class
1st place: Jon Marxmann from Con-Way Freight
2nd place: Marty Wilson from Heritage Transport
3rd place: James Anglin from YRC Worldwide
5-Axle Van Class:
1st place: Derrill Blandford from USF Holland
2nd place: Steve Gordon from Con-Way Freight
3rd place: Joshua Ferguson from FedEx Express
5-Axle Sleeper Class:
1st place: Ron Marker from Wal*Mart Stores
2nd place: Daniel Zemanek from Con-Way Freight
3rd place: Ernest Mehling from J.E.T. Transit
Flatbed Class:
1st place: Scott Bluhm from Con-Way Freight
2nd place: David Schraub from Heritage Transport
3rd place: Mark Serf from Con-Way Freight
Tanker Class:
1st place: J. Scott Stierwalt from Wal*Mart Stores
2nd place: Richard Coffey from Heritage Transport
3rd place: Thomas Crowe from FedEx Ground
Twin Trailer Class:
1st place: Donald Alexander from Con-Way Freight
2nd place: Richard Fiscus from UPS Freight
3rd place: Dan McCain from Con-Way Freight
Highest Score: Steve Bluhm from Con-Way Freight
Rookie of the Year: Jon Marxmann from Con-Way Freight
Team Award: Heritage Transport
Congratulations to all the winners! We’ll be rooting for you as you represent Indiana at the Nationals this year!!
Although the overall economy is still struggling, the opportunities for some specialized careers, like commercial driving, are expanding rapidly. If you are an experienced, qualified CDL driver with a clean background, there is an increasing demand for you in the workplace. There are many job opportunities now that didn’t exist just six months ago.
A few years ago, one of the biggest concerns in the trucking industry was a “driver shortage.” After the economic collapse, this was less of an issue amongst most trucking companies. Now, however, this concern is beginning to rear its ugly head again.
I’d like to ask you, the CDL driver, for your input as to reasons why we are again facing a resurgence of a “driver shortage.”
Please offer your “two cents” by clicking on the comments line below.
The best way to get to the bottom of this “driver shortage” is to get feedback straight from the source. We appreciate your input - all we ask is that you keep all comments professional.
Due to the popular demand after holding two sold-out seminars in Indianapolis and Cincinnati earlier this year, Driving Ambition is proud to be hosting and sponsoring two additional CSA 2010 / FMCSA Seminars featuring former FMCSA Administrator John Hill:
Thursday, July 15, 2010 - Nashville, TN (in conjunction with the Tennessee Trucking Association)
Tuesday, July 27, 2010 - Indianapolis, IN (in conjunction with the Indiana Motor Truck Association)
These seminars are designed to educate motor carriers on the broad implications that CSA 2010, as well as many other FMCSA initiatives will bring. For more information on the upcoming seminars, and for testimonials from previously held seminars, click here.
If there is one seminar you attend all year, this is it!
The FMCSA will be hosting a webinar on the new Pre-Employment Screening Program - providing an overview of the PSP program, and demonstrations of both the motor carrier and commercial driver online services. The webinar is scheduled for June 23, from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. Eastern time.
The Pre-Employment Screening Program is a new, national-level program designed to offer motor carriers and commercial drivers electronic access to drivers' records from the Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS).
A PSP record contains a driver's crash and inspection history to help motor carriers make more informed hiring decisions. It allows carriers to take the crash and inspection history of drivers into account when deciding on hiring new employees.
The new program is voluntary, and a carrier must obtain the driver's written consent to access.
How to Register
You can register by going to http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/facts-research/art-webinars-future.asp and clicking on the heading "Pre-employment Screening Program Online Service Demonstration." You will be emailed a confirmation notice within 24 hours of registration that will provide information on how to participate.
If you are unable to participate in the FMCSA's webinar, HireRight (USIS/DAC Services) will be hosting a PSP webinar the following day, on Thursday, June 24, at 2 p.m. Easter time. To join the HireRight's webinar, go online to https://hirerightevents.webex.com/ and put in event number 924046459.
Last week, Driving Ambition hosted and sponsored its 2nd CSA 2010 / FMCSA Seminar featuring former FMCSA Administrator John Hill.
The seminar was held in Cincinnati, OH on May 20. The first such seminar took place in March in Indianapolis, IN. For both seminars, John Hill spoke to a full house of approximately 100 people about CSA 2010, and a handful of other FMCSA initiatives that we can expect to see this year.
Former FMCSA Administrator Hill stressed the importance for carriers, as well as CDL drivers, to become extremely familiar with CSA 2010 - especially in light of a recent survey stating that barely 50% of carriers are remotely familiar with CSA 2010.
To view a .pdf of the PowerPoint used during John Hill's presentation, click here.
Driving Ambition will be sponsoring at least two more CSA 2010 / FMCSA Seminars this year - both in July - in Nashville, TN and again in Indianapolis, IN. Click here for more information.
At the first ever Sleep Apnea & Trucking Conference, held in Baltimore, MD, a sold out crowd of trucking industry leaders, sleep medicine professionals, regulators and vendors gathered to discuss solutions for the serious problem of sleep apnea in trucking. The two-day event was hosted by the American Sleep Apnea Association (ASAA) and co-sponsored by the American Trucking Associations (ATA) and the FMCSA.
Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), the most common category of sleep-disordered breathing, is a condition where airways become obstructed while sleeping, typically resulting in "hypoxia" or low blood oxygen levels at night. The obstruction leads to interruptions in breathing lasting several seconds at a time, loud snoring, and non-restful sleep. OSA has been demonstrated to significantly increase safety and health risks, leading to extreme daytime sleepiness.
Medical research has shown that OSA is a significant cause of motor vehicle crashes (resulting in a two- to seven-fold increased risk). Studies also suggest that commercial motor vehicle (CMV) operators have a higher prevalence of OSA than the general population. According to FMCSA research, around 30 percent of drivers suffer from mild to severe sleep apnea.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) renewed its campaign to broaden the use of sleep disorder screening across all modes of transportation - air, rail, marine, and trucking - as part of a long-term effort to significantly reduce the negative effects of fatigue. According to NTSB Vice Chairman Christopher Hart, fatigue and sleep apnea are major problems of the trucking industry and regulators need better awareness and better treatments to address the problem properly.
Hart proposed that the FMCSA incorporate new sleep disorder suggestions in an online medical examiner book. He also said he believes FMCSA will complete a revised examination report form by September to include the assessment of sleep disorders and publish a best practices guide for examiners.
Currently, there are few rules in transportation addressing OSA. In trucking, FMCSA asks about sleep disorders, OSA, daytime sleepiness, and snoring on the questionnaire completed by commercial truck drivers undergoing examination for medical certification. Further, the FMCSA Medical Review Board in 2008 recommended that the adminstration require OSA screening for all drivers with a body mass index (BMI) over 30, but the FMCSA has yet to act on that recommendation.
Regulators say that sleep disorders are big problems of the trucking industry. FMCSA Administrator Anne Ferro, who spoke at the Conference, said that fatigue-related crashes need to be reduced in the trucking industry, and that more research, programs, events, and targeted outreach and intervention will reduce drowsy driving accidents. "We consider fatigue to be a high risk behavior, something we're addressing as part of our core mission to reduce severe and fatal crashes involving commercial motor vehicles," said Ferro. "We know sleep apnea contributes to fatigue, that it interferes with safe driving. Thus sleep apnea is a threat to safety."
Over twenty speakers spoke at the two-day conference. Among them was R. Clay Porter, partner, Dennis, Corry, Porter & Smith, LLP. Mr. Porter examined the potential legal ramifications of drivers with sleep apnea on the road. While sleep apnea has not become a major player in the realm of truck litigation, it is "going to be part of this legal landscape sooner rather than later." Recommendations have already been made placing drivers, employers, and physicians on notice about this problem, along with proposed specific steps that should be taken to reduce preventable accidents attributed to OSA. In addition, existing case law exists to frame an argument for punitive damages for employers, and criminal convictions for employees and employers if OSA problems are ignored or hidden. The word to the wise is "deficio gero vestrum periclitatus", which roughly translates to "fail to act at your peril."
Those unable to attend the sold-out conference can purchase the Resource Toolkit, a comprehensive manual with materials on sleep apnea and trucking, which will be available after the conference at http://www.satc2010.org/. You can also click here for a variety of sleep apnea treatment options from the ASAA.
The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) will hold this year's annual Roadcheck from June 8-10.
Operation Roadcheck is a 72-hour roadside inspection and enforcement blitz in which an estimated 10,000 inspectors set up more than 1,000 checkpoints on highways across North America to monitor truck safety compliance. Since its inception in 1988, Operation Roadcheck is the largest targeted enforcement program on commercial vehicles in the world with an estimated 14 trucks or buses being inspected, on average, every minute from Canada to Mexico during the 72-hour period.
The inspections are held in cooperation with the FMCSA, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators, Transport Canada and the Secretariat of Communications and Transportation of Mexico.
As in past events, this year's Roadcheck will focus on commercial vehicle and driver safety and security. However, this year's version has the added bonus of being the first safety blitz that will affect your CSA 2010 score. Drivers should make sure their logbooks are current and their equipment properly maintained with no violations as CVSA inspectors will be checking both. Keep in mind that all inspection violations will become part of your CSA 2010 record. What inspectors find, or don't find, can affect your CSA 2010 ratings. Even violations not resulting in an out-of-service order will be tabulated into the CSA 2010 safety measurement system (SMS).
Under CSA 2010, vehicle-maintenance, load-securement violations, driver history, driver fitness (driver appropriately licensed), carrier crash history, and the use of controlled substances are among the criteria used to calculate a carrier's BASIC rating. Such data from roadside inspections is then measured to determine whether a carrier qualifies for an intervention by the FMCSA. For more information on CSA 2010, check http://csa2010.fmcsa.dot.gov/.
For more information on Operation Roadcheck, visit http://www.cvsa.org/.