Trucking News

We live in interesting times. Between the pandemic, new HOS rules, safety blitz’s, and the usual things happening in the trucking industry – it can be hard to keep up with it all.

Have no fear. We have collected what you need to know from the recent industry news!

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Health

CBSA collecting personal information from truckers – “Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has begun collecting personal information from truck drivers at several border crossings on behalf of the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC).

This has taken some drivers, including lease-operator Greg Decker by surprise, and caused some concern. He was recently asked for his personal email address and cell phone number while crossing at Coutts, Alta.”

More border crossings collect contact information from drivers – “The Canada Border Services Agency has expanded a program that involves collecting personal contact information from drivers on behalf of the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC).

The initiative, first reported by trucknews.com, is now in place at 12 additional ports of entry, bringing the total to 18 locations overall.”

6 helpful trucking tips for the summertime – “Summertime is upon us; days are becoming longer, temperatures are rising and the asphalt is heating up. With this new season comes new challenges for truckers out on the road. By following a few simple tips though, you can stay healthy and cool this year.”

Truckers don’t hold back about Love’s mandatory mask use – “When Love’s Travel Stops announced Tuesday, July, 21, that come July 29, anyone stopping at any of their 520 stores around the country must wear a face mask reaction by Truckers News readers, for the most part, was swift and to the point: no.”

Beginners guide to getting fit while on the road – “Sitting in a cab all day paired with the excess amount of fast-food offered at a truck stop can make it easy for drivers to slip into an unhealthy lifestyle. Changing habits and learning new tricks to maintain your health and fitness is a slow process, but beneficial in the long run.”

Safety

7 Priceless Parking Lot Safety Tips for Delivery Drivers – “Did you know that 60% of delivery crashes happen in the parking lot? Most safety professionals spend most of their time focused on roadway collisions. This is for good reason: higher speeds can mean more injuries and higher costs. But almost two-thirds of a delivery fleet’s collisions happen in a parking lot and involve a fixed or stationary object.”

CVSA says Brake Safety Week 2020 will proceed – “Despite the pandemic, commercial motor vehicle safety inspectors continue to prioritize vehicle and driver safety by conducting inspections every day,” said CVSA President Sgt. John Samis with the Delaware State Police. “Safety is always our top priority and it’s our mission to ensure the vehicles on our roadways have met all safety standards and regulations. This is especially important as we rally behind truck drivers as they transport essential goods during this public health crisis. We need to do everything we can to ensure that the vehicles truck drivers are driving are as safe as possible.”

Feds remain committed to June 2021 ELD rollout – “Transport Canada remains committed to the June 2021 rollout of electronic logging devices (ELDs) for federally regulated operations, even though a related third-party testing and certification process has yet to be finalized.”

DOT says it’s full speed ahead on hours changes implementation – “The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration says it’s proceeding with implementation of new hours of service rule designed to give drivers more flexibility in their daily work schedule.”

The overlooked health benefit of new HOS — the ability to grab a nap – “The rule that resulted, taking effect Sept. 29, in its split-sleeper-berth provisions allows a driver to exclude a two- to three-hour off-duty period from counting against the 14-hour clock. That yields a potential two to three hours of on-duty time that can’t be achieved under the current rule. Instead, the incentive has been to avoid taking those hours off-duty and continue working. In many cases, that short period would have been used for sleep, so the safety ramification is obvious.”

Hours of Service Timeline: The Long, Convoluted History of Truck Driver Rules – “Truck driver hours of service rules, first published in 1937, have been through numerous iterations, court challenges, and Congressional interventions in the past two decades. Take a tour through our timeline.”

DOT says new HOS rules will save taxpayers $4 BILLION – “The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) said that a series of proposed changes to truck driver Hours of Service regulations will result in billions of dollars worth of savings for American taxpayers.”

How to pull off the new split-sleeper under the hours of service come September – “Sept. 29, to be exact when drivers will be able to use the split sleeper cycle with the expanded 7/3 option — as it is now, splits can only go up to 8/2. For my money, and you’ll see why in these examples, however, the most significant change here is that the shorter period in the split will “stop” the 14-hour clock; that is, you can exclude that period from the calculation of the rolling 14 on-duty clock.

That can deliver a significant flexibility dividend.”

FMCSA reminds truckers of emergency hours exception – “As the agency wrote yesterday, it “wants drivers to know that they may use the emergency conditions exception in 395.1(b) to complete a trip without violating the hours-of-service regulations if the trip was delayed due to a civil disturbance causing a driver to reasonably fear for their physical safety.”

The Lighter Side of Trucking

This is Not Something You Expect to Pass You on the Road

 

Road boat

Think you’ve seen it all? How about this ‘turntable’ loading dock? – “The unique loading dock is located at a concert/sports venue called the Barclay Center in Brooklyn, New York. At the venue, trucks enter at street level, then descend in an elevator. The trucks are then are spun on the “turntable” loading dock so that they can back in or exit the facility.”