Trucking News
Summer is in full swing with all the summer travellers, picnics, and construction. And just because you’re busy turning miles doesn’t mean you have to miss important trucking industry news.
May was a busy month with important stories on regulations, truck parking, and infrastructure updates. Grab a cup of coffee and get caught up with what’s new in trucking.
Truck Parking
The worst regions for truck parking – “Surprisingly, the most-difficult region wasn’t the Northeast. Trucker Path polls its 1 million-some users every time they open the app on parking availability, and looked at where drivers most often report “no parking spaces available” the most. The company determined the Southeast had it worst, with app users reporting no parking available 23% of the time, followed by the Northeast at 21%, South Central at 20%, the West at 19%. The North Central region had it best at 15%.”
New TA brings 60 truck parking spaces to California – TravelCenters of America (TA) recently opened a new store in Olancha, California. The new store is a TA Express (20 Gills Station Road) located off US Hwy 395 in Olancha.
B.C. upgrading rest areas to improve travel for truckers – The province is supporting improvements at rest areas through a new $100-million Safety Rest Area Improvement Program over the next nine years. Of that, $28 million will be spent over the next three years to support the trucking industry and other travellers.
Indiana DOT to close I-70 welcome center, two I-65 rest stops, for two years – Starting June 1, INDOT will close the Clear Creek Welcome Center on I-70 and both northbound and southbound Lebanon Rest Areas on I-65. All facilities are closed for construction projects that are expected to take two years to complete.
Illinois to Add Truck Parking at Three Rest Areas – Illinois plans to build a total of more than 100 new truck parking places in two rest areas on Interstate 55 and one on I-24 in a $197.5 million investment in 22 freight mobility projects.
Trucking Safety
Roadcheck fails: ‘Worst of the worst’ in Iowa – From makeshift fixes that shifted and got unmade to corrosion making common components nigh-on unrecognizable, these images mostly speak for themselves.
Unannounced Brake Safety Day nets nearly 800 out-of-service trucks – On April 19, 6,829 commercial motor vehicles were inspected throughout Canada, Mexico and the U.S. as part of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s Brake Safety Day. Inspectors found brake-related critical vehicle inspection items on 11.3% of the vehicles inspected, indicating those vehicles were unfit and unsafe for roadways. As a result, inspectors restricted those 773 commercial motor vehicles from travel until the violations were corrected.
Brake Issues Put 11% of CMVs Out of Service in CVSA Brake Safety Day – Inspectors found brake-related critical vehicle inspection items on 11.3% of the vehicles checked during the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CVSA) Brake Safety Day. The enhanced focus resulted in the restriction of 773 commercial vehicles from travel until the violations were corrected.
Canada Performs Best in CVSA Brake Safety Day – In Canada, only 10% of the 894 total commercial motor vehicles inspected were placed out of service for brake-related violations, while the number was 11.5% in the US and 18% in Mexico.
Trucking Regulations
U.S. Government to Remove Border Vaccine Requirements as of May 12 – Beginning May 12, 2023, DHS will no longer require non-U.S. travelers entering the United States via land ports of entry and ferry terminals to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19
House bill would clip FMCSA’s ability to implement speed limiters – A bill introduced in the House Tuesday would effectively end an ongoing push by the Department of Transportation to mandate speed limiters on heavy trucks.
House Bill to Thwart Truck Speed-Limiters Not Likely to Gain Traction – The bill has five Republican co-sponsors and has been referred to the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit. Where it goes from there is likely nowhere fast.
FMCSA to Congress: Safety impacts of 2020 HOS changes inconclusive so far – The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said in a new report to Congress that since the 2020 changes to the hours-of-service regulations took effect, HOS violations have seen a significant uptick, while crashes and fatalities have held mostly flat.
FMCSA: HOS Violations Rise After Rule Change – The congressionally mandated report was intended to analyze the “real-world effects” of the new regulation by comparing safety data from two years prior to the adoption of the HOS amendments and data collected the year after the implementation of the regulation tweaks.
How to Detect the Driver Inc Scheme? – Driver Inc is a tax avoidance practice, whereby truck drivers, who would normally be considered employees under most independent criteria, are deliberately misclassified.
Driver Inc, a Tax Avoidance and Labour Abuse Scam, Throws Canada’s Trucking Sector into Crisis – Teamsters Canada, the Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA), and the Association du camionnage du Québec (ACQ) have joined forces to call for urgent federal action to put the brakes on the growing Driver Inc crisis in the country’s trucking sector.
Trucking & Infrastructure
Manitoba to spend $33.5M on Trans-Canada Highway upgrades – The section of the highway through the Rural Municipality of Headingley will receive several upgrades over the next two years so traffic can move more safely and efficiently, Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Doyle Piwniuk announced in a news release.
Manitoba twinning Trans-Canada Highway from Falcon Lake to Ontario border – The Manitoba government has prioritized twinning 700 meters of the highway nearest the border, to align with Ontario’s four-lane Hwy. 17.
