Welcome to Spring.  First and foremost, to our friends and subscribers in Oklahoma and surrounding areas our thoughts and prayers are with you.

It was a pleasure seeing so many of you at the IMUA this month.  It is great to get together and talk about the new issues facing the industry.  The intro to inland marine program provided by the IMUA was well received and clearly helped those new to the inland marine world.  For those of you who are interested the IMUA will be hosting a webinar on truck broker liability, with yours truly as one of the instructors.  Details will follow and the webinar will be in July.  You can always check out the website www.imua.org for more information on this and other webinars.

CAB LABS – We are excited to announce the launch of our new Search App for Leads (SALEs) search engine. Bringing the power of the CAB system to the search for leads, the SALEs portal offers agents and market analysts easy access to targeted motor carrier leads. With a modern interface, geographic based searching, up to date lists and the most comprehensive filter controls available, the SALEs system offers an unparalleled approach to identifying the carriers that best suit your book. As a core service, the SALEs page has been added as a new tab to our main search pages. Any user with access to CAB is welcome to try out this new tool. To find out more about our pricing options or to demo the system, please contact us.

This month we report:

OUT OF SERVICE REPORTS – The FMCSA list of out of service carriers and drivers continues to grow.  The FMCSA continues to focus on buses, shutting down a number of them this month. Toledo, Ohio-based Destiny Tours was ordered to immediately cease all interstate passenger transportation service for failing to obtain proper federal operating authority.  Similarly Niagara Falls, N.Y.-based passenger carrier Coach USA Tour, Inc., Kearns, Utah-based passenger carrier Salt Lake Shuttles, LLC, Mexico-based passenger carrier Autobuses Zacatecanos, LLC, and Champaign, Ill.-based passenger carrier Illini Tours, Inc. and Oxford, Miss.-based Carbo Limo of Oxford, LLC were all ordered to immediately cease all operation when the FMCSA declared them an imminent hazard to public safety.

Atlanta-based Greene Classic Limousines had five vehicles placed immediately out of service. FMCSA investigators found that the vehicles had such significant structural and mechanical defects that the vehicles pose an imminent hazard to public safety.

Truck and car Colorado based carrier GD Cars, Inc., was also pulled out of operation as an imminent hazard.

Drivers were not ignored either with New Mexico-licensed truck driver Bobby C. Cleveland, Texas-licensed truck driver Ruben Galindo and South Carolina-licensed truck driver Arnold Bradford Williams declared imminent hazards to public safety. Read More

Happy May.  I am looking forward to seeing many of you in a few weeks at the annual IMUA meeting in Atlanta.  Please stop by our table during the breaks and visit.  It is always a good event. Check it out at imua.org.

This month we report:

DOT CABINET POST – Anthony Foxx, the mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina, will be put forward as the new leader of the DOT. Foxx doesn’t have any specific experience as a transportation executive.

CARRIER OUT OF SERVICE REPORT –  It was a busy month over at the FMCSA.  The FMCSA has ordered four Olathe, Kan.-based trucking companies – Royal Transport, Inc.; Nationwide, Inc.; Freight, Inc.; and Midwest A, Inc. – to immediately cease all interstate transportation service based on evidence that they are chameleon carriers ™ for an unsafe truck company previously shut down by the agency. Atlanta-based Southern Transportation Inc. was also ordered to stop operating, for refusal to release safety records to investigators. General Trucking, Inc. also based in Atlanta, Ga., was shut down as an imminent hazard to the public due to a pattern of serious safety violations, as well as Washington DC Party Shuttle, which also does business under the name Onboard DC Tours. The FMCSA rounded out the month placing Best Limo Service, also from Georgia out of service as an imminent hazard. With all of their new enforcement power, the FMCSA also declared Johnny Allen Spell from North Carolina to be an imminent hazard to public safety and has ordered him not to operate any commercial motor vehicle in interstate commerce.

STATISTICS – For those of you who are number junkies, the BTS has updated a number of its statistical reports on transportation, including stats on various accidents by mode of transportation, and information on various state laws on distracted driving.  Anyone interested can view the report here.

HOUSEHOLD GOODS CARRIERS – The FMCSA has issued a clarification on the limited service exclusion that held that trucking companies that provide and move containers are not household goods carriers. They concluded that when companies also provide the laborers with the containers they will be considered movers and subject to all household goods movers regulations.  FMCSA’s notice said it would consider the issue on a case-by-case basis, and it outlined eight factors the agency would consider in determining eligibility for the limited service exclusion, including whether the container company advertises itself as a mover, how it handles referrals to companies that pack goods and the corporate or employment relationships between the parties.

In other household goods news, the FMCSA launched its new moving fraud prevention campaign to inform consumers about how to spot the “red flags” of fraudulent or dishonest movers- the “Protect Your Move” campaign. Resources include a moving fraud prevention checklist, a moving broker checklist and tips for a successful move. Consumers can also search a company’s complaint history and compare safety records of companies nationally.  In 2012, FMCSA received over 3,100 consumer complaints about household goods movers, up from 2,851 in 2011. Among the most common complaints are shipments being held hostage; loss, damage or delay of shipments; unauthorized movers; and deceptive practices, such as overcharges. Nationwide, the top ten cities with the greatest number of consumer complaints in 2012 were New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Las Vegas, Atlanta, Seattle, Orlando, San Antonio, and San Diego.

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