The Department of Transportation (DOT) recently announced that they’ll be hosting a second National Distracted Driving Summit on September 21 in Washington, DC. To build on the growing momentum sparked by the first summit last fall, DOT Secretary Ray LaHood will convene leading transportation officials, safety advocates, law enforcement, industry representatives, researchers, and victims affected by distraction-related crashes to address challenges and identify opportunities for national anti-distracted driving efforts.
Last fall, Secretary LaHood sparked a national conversation on distracted driving when he held a Distracted Driving Summit in Washington, DC. In the year since that Summit, efforts to curb distracted driving have grown exponentially. President Obama enacted an Executive Order banning all text messaging by four million federal employees, dozens of state and local governments enacted anti-distracted driving legislation, and the federal government established a texting ban for commercial truck and bus drivers. In addition, Secretary LaHood launched a new government website – www.distraction.gov – to provide the public with a comprehensive resource about how to get involved.
At this year’s event, experts from around the country will explore accomplishments since the first summit, as well as the many challenges that lie ahead. Key topics will include research, technology, policy, public outreach, and best practices in enforcement.
Research by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) shows that in 2008, nearly 6,000 people died and more than half a million were injured in crashes involving a distracted driver. More than 20 percent of all crashes that same year involved some type of distraction.
State highway safety agencies are committed to addressing driver distraction through a comprehensive approach including laws, education, enforcement, employer policies and the use of technology. In July, the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) released a new report detailing state distracted driving countermeasures. The report shows that states are implementing many strategies to begin to turn the tide against distraction. The report is available online at www.ghsa.org/html/publications/survey/index.html.
For a full list of state laws regulating texting and cell phone use while driving, visit: www.ghsa.org/html/stateinfo/laws/cellphone_laws.html.
Additional details on the 2nd National Distracted Driving Summit will be released as they become available at www.distraction.gov/2010summit.
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.
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!
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.
CSA 2010 is one of a handful of significant safety initiatives being rolled out by the FMCSA this year. Described as a "game changer", it will have a lasting effect on every carrier and truck driver in the industry.
To keep our friends in the transportation industry informed, Driving Ambition will be hosting a special CSA 2010 / FMCSA Seminar on Thursday, May 20th, in Cincinnati, OH featuring former FMCSA Admininistrator John Hill. The cost to attend the Seminar is only $25.00 and includes buffet breakfast. Registration and breakfast is from 8am-9am, followed by Mr. Hill's presentation from 9am-Noon.
What can we expect from the FMCSA in 2010?
In addition to covering CSA 2010, Mr. Hill will offer his unique perspective on a variety of other FMCSA safety and regulatory measures that will have a lasting impact on the industry.
We hope you can join us for the most important seminar of the year. Deadline to register is Tuesday, May 18th.
Click here to register now (credit cards are accepted).
From the April 9, 2010 Federal Register - courtesy of John Hill, former FMCSA Administrator and founder of The Hill Group, Inc.
April 12, 2010 - The Carrier Safety Management System (CSMS) will be available for individual motor carriers to view their own safety data.
April 12 - August 31, 2010 - motor carriers will see their safety performance history through the 7 BASICs. After the refinements to the CSMS occur in the summer of 2010, carriers from September through November 30, 2010 will see their safety performance through the CSA 2010 model.
June 2010 - CSA 2010 field test concludes with the nine pilot states. Thereafter, the nine states involved in the pilot program (Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Kansas, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana and New Jersey) will use the full array of interventions.
September 30, 2010 - Deadline for any comments on this implementation schedule for CSA 2010's revised schedule. I encourage you to make any comments concerning CSA 2010 that you may have.
November 30, 2010 - Three important things will occur:
1) Replace SafeStat with CSMS (the crash data will remain visible only to the motor carrier - not the public). This was previously to occur on July 1, 2010. The public will be able to view your profile.
2) Warning letters will be sent nationwide to any carriers with deficient BASICs.
3) Implementation of a nationwide Inspector Selection System (ISS) for roadside inspections in lieu of SafeStat as the basis.
Later in 2010 - FMCSA said in the federal register notice that they plan to issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking concerning the Safety Fitness Determination. Until the Final Rule is in place, FMCSA will continue to issue safety ratings based on Part 385 - the current regime.
On April 1, a
proposed rule to ban texting for truck and bus drivers was published in the Federal Register. The proposed rule would make permanent the interim ban instituted in late January, and take it a step further by establishing more detailed, binding requirements that include the risk of disqualification from driving, on top of the hefty fines that are now in place.
The first texting offense, and each subsequent offense, would lead to a fine of up to $2,750. If a driver commits a second offense within three years he would be disqualified for at least 60 days. Three offenses within three years would lead to a 120-day disqualification.
The FMCSA acknowledged in the NPRM that many carriers have invested significant resources in electronic dispatching tools and fleet management systems. The agency also indicated that its proposal should not be seen as a move to prohibit the use of onboard technology such as electronic dispatching or fleet management systems, or of cell phones for uses other than texting. It will take up these issues in separate rulemakings that will be announced in the coming months.
To promote public involvement and collaboration in the rulemaking process, the Department of Transportation (DOT) will be forming a partnership with Cornell University. Part of that partnership will be the formation of the Regulation Room (http://www.regulationroom.org/), an online environment where people can learn about and discuss proposed federal regulations, and a place where the DOT can receive feedback to its proposals. The DOT encourages participation in this rulemaking through Regulation Room, but the public may also submit comments to the DOT docket at http://www.regulation.gov/ The public comment period ends May 3.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has issued a final rule ordering motor carriers with "serious patterns of hours of service violations" to install electronic on-board recorders (EOBRs) in all their vehicles, affecting nearly 5,700 carriers. This final rule, significantly more stringent than the regulation proposed in January 2007, "gives us another tool to enforce hours of service restrictions on drivers who attempt to get around the rules," said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. "We are committed to cracking down on carriers and drivers who put people on our roads and highways at risk."
The final rule states that motor carriers with a violation rate equal to or greater than 10 percent of the records reviewed during one compliance review will be ordered to implement the use of approved EOBRs. Studies show that motor carriers with a 10 percent or greater violation rate of the hours-of-service regulations in one compliance review have a 40 percent higher crash rate than the general motor carrier population. Once a motor carrier receives notice, hazmat haulers have 45 days to install the devices and all other motor carriers have 60 days. If a motor carrier receives a directive, the devices will have to be installed on all trucks - even on owner-operator trucks leased to the motor carrier, even if the owner-operator is running under his or her own authority. If a company chooses to ignore the edict to install the devices, the motor carrier would no longer be allowed to operate in interstate commerce and could have its authority revoked by FMCSA.
The recorders, which automatically record the number of hours drivers spend operating vehicles, must be used for a minimum of two years. The final rule also outlines performance criteria for the actual EOBR devices. The devices, in addition to automatically recording driving time, will also have to record information such as driver name, date and time, location, distance traveled, and shipping document numbers or name of shipper and commodity. If the truck is being used as a personal conveyance, the driver will have to input a note to that effect before the truck even moves. In tracking the truck's movement, if the truck is stationary for five or more minutes, the EOBR must default to on-duty not driving and the driver "must enter the proper duty status." When the truck is in motion, the devices will have to record the time and location of the truck at least once every 60 minutes.
To address concerns with tampering, the agency requires that the EOBR records not be altered by the driver, motor carrier or third party. In the event that a record needs alteration, the EOBRs are required to keep the original records as well as the modified records. Drivers will be allowed to make "annotations" to the records in the event of a special circumstance.
The final rule, which takes effect on June 4, 2012, gives EOBR suppliers time to adjust to the new performance standards.
As an incentive to promote voluntary use, the agency will no longer require supporting documents related to driving time, such as toll receipts, for carriers that install recorders. The carriers that already use recorders may keep using them through the life of the truck. Recorders installed in trucks built starting in April 2012, will have to meet the new standards.
The FMCSA indicated that it would initiate another EOBR rulemaking, possibly later this year, to consider a mandate for passenger carriers, hazmat transporters and new motor carriers seeking authority.
The Electronic On-Board Recorders for Hours-of-Service Compliance rule is on display here: www.federalregister.gov/OFRUpload/OFRData/2010-06747_PI.pdf
A highly anticipated electronic onboard recorder (EOBR) rulemaking has moved another step closer to finality. The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) recently finished its review of the rule and has returned it to the Department of Transportation (DOT). The final EOBR rule is expected to be published in the Federal Register by the end of March.
If publication comes soon enough, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) would be able to discuss the new rule at its fifth Hours of Service (HOS) listening session on March 26 at the Mid-America Trucking Show (MATS) in Louisville, Ky.
Although details are not yet available, motor carriers who demonstrated a history of serious noncompliance with the HOS rules and other safety issues would be subject to mandatory installation of EOBRs. The motor carrier would then be required to install EOBRs in all of its CMVs and to use the devices for HOS recordkeeping for a period of two years. In addition, FMCSA would also encourage industry-wide voluntary use of EOBRs by providing incentives for motor carriers, and will spell out new performance standards for the EOBR devices that will be used.
The EOBR issue isn't settled once FMCSA publishes this rule, however. The FMCSA has said it will consider further expanding the number of motor carriers required to install EOBRs as part of a rulemaking that also will address supporting documents for HOS compliance. FMCSA says it will consider reducing or eliminating paperwork burdens associated with supporting documents in favor of expanded EOBR use.
In another development, FMCSA sent its proposal for banning text messaging while driving over to the White House OMB, as part of its effort to combat distracted driving. Earlier this year, FMCSA issued regulatory guidance outlawing texting by drivers, but said they would also be issuing a series of rules to support that guidance. Several states have said they either cannot, or do not, intend to enforce the ban until there is a firm rule in place.
The FMCSA's fourth and final listening session on the hours of service rule was focused on hearing insights from drivers themselves on what the agency should do. The session, which was held near a Flying J truck stop in Davenport, IA, drew drivers and owner-operators from all over the Midwest.
The general consensus among drivers primarily resonated with the results of the three previous listening sessions: the need for more flexibility with the sleeper berth and 14-hour provisions, along with the desire to keep the 34-hour restart.
One issue that came up during the session is the lack of truck parking, especially throughout the snowstorm-ridden Midwest. Brenda Neville, president of the Iowa Motor Truck Association, told the panel that there has to be greater access to safe parking, as this is a nationwide problem.
"Many truckstops and rest stops are shutting down across the country, leaving drivers having to worry about loss of property or being a safety hazard while sleeping," Neville said.
Another concern with pulling over to rest is state idling laws, according to Tom Bower, a small fleet owner out of Kentucky. Bower pointed to an anti-idling law in Wisconsin, which prohibits drivers from using heaters or air conditioning units while resting unless the temperature reaches below 10 degrees or above 90 degrees. "That's just not acceptable," he said.
While Thursday's session was the last scheduled session on hours of service, the FMCSA is considering scheduling a fifth discussion.
For more information on FMCSA's Hours-Of-Service Listening Sessions, click here.