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DMV Proposal Describes Violations to Disqualify CDL Holders from Driving

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The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) issued a regulatory notice on October 22, 2014 proposing to add nearly three dozen violations of the Vehicle Code that could result in disqualifying a commercial driver’s license (CDL) holder from operating a commercial motor vehicle.

An audit of California’s CDL program found that the state was not in conformance with federal standards that mandate states specifically define violations of state law that are equivalent to federal disqualifying violations contained in § 383.51 of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSR’s). Read more

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Congress Approves Funding Bill; Attached Rider Alters Federal HOS 34-hour Restart Provision

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Late in the evening on December 12th, 2014 the U.S. House of Representatives narrowly approved an appropriations bill by a vote of 219-206 to keep government running for another year. One of the many “riders” attached to that necessary piece of legislation was a bill authored by Senator Collins (R-Maine) that would roll-back the federal hours-of-service 34-hour restart provision to its original form. Read more

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Caltrans Posts Proposed 2015 Specification Changes

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The way California road builders do their job is going to be changing next year, as Caltrans is rolling out new Standard Specifications for 2015.

A draft version of some of the proposed changes is available on the agency’s web site right now, with additional changes to the existing 2010 specifications. The state Department of Transportation says the posted changes are not yet final (but will be later this year) and “is being supplied for information purposes only.” Read more

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California Employers Pay Highest Workers’ Comp Costs in Nation

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CalChamber – November 18, 2014

The biennial study by the Oregon Department of Business and Consumer Services has confirmed that California employers pay the highest workers’ compensation costs in the nation — by a wide margin.
California has consistently ranked among the most expensive states in this workers’ compensation rate study for more than a decade; however, California has not been tagged with the No. 1 spot since 2004. The study revealed that California employers pay 188 percent more in workers’ compensation costs than the national median and 33 percent more than the second most expensive state (Connecticut). Read more

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CVSA Echoes Industry Calls On Removing CSA Data From Public View

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Following letters to U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx by two industry coalition groups (including the CCTA) asking that FMCSA be required to limit the public availability of motor carrier safety data, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) submitted a similar letter to Mr. Foxx on November 14, 2014. Read more

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CVSA Votes to Remove Requirement That Driver’s Speak English from OOS Criteria

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Alliance also petitions FMCSA for Standard Testing Procedure on Language Proficiency

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) member jurisdictions have voted to remove from the out-of-service (OOS) criteria violations of 49 C.F.R. § 391.11(b)(2) that generally states that a person shall not drive a commercial motor vehicle unless that person “can read and speak the English language sufficiently to converse with the general public, to understand highway traffic signs and signals in the English language, to respond to official inquiries, and to make entries on reports and records.” Read more

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A History Lesson in Not Getting Paid Transportation Charges

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It’s not every day I get a call from a member where I’m able to invoke 200+ years of American history to basically blame our member for his troubles. A recent late afternoon call left me and our member nearly in tears laughing at the underlying ironic truth to my response to his problem.

Unfortunately, it’s only a matter of “when” not “if” when a trucking company owner will get stiffed on a freight bill. While there are sometimes options such as hitting a brokers bond to get payment, if you are dealing shipper direct and have a signed contract and then get shorted on freight charges, your only option is to sue – and this just isn’t really a viable choice when you are talking about a few hundred dollars. Who wants to spend a buck trying to recover a penny? Read more

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The Last Mile – Port Drayage Truckers

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When importing a widget manufactured in China, the ocean voyage is typically 2+ weeks. With increasing satellite telematics capabilities, a container loaded with widgets can be tracked from the time the container arrives at the origin port awaiting the ocean vessel to be loaded for arrival at your requested port. What happens next is called the Last Mile, the most important leg of the trip.

As vessels get bigger and bigger along the companies that operate them (18,500 TEU super-container ship), the terminals get mega-sized too so they can handle the avalanche of containers offloaded from each vessel. Read more

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Another Request for Exemption From Half-hour Break Requirement

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The Specialized Carriers & Rigging Association (SCRA) has submitted an application for exemption to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) for an exemption from the 30-minute break requirement under the federal HOS regulations for drivers operating under permit loads (oversize/overweight). Read more

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The Never Ending Story

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At this time of year people reflect on what they should have done and what they will do in the New Year, so let’s look at what is and what is likely to come along.

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has given final approval to their Truck and Bus Rule, which is now the law unless they decide to do something else, always a possibility.
This means is there are no reprieves, no pardons and no excuses. CARB will be cruising the truck scales and setting up roadside stops with the approval and assistance of the CHP. Read more